- The Ethereum Foundation has introduced Strawmap, a long-term roadmap targeting 10,000 transactions per second on the main network and 10 million on Layer 2 networks.
- The plan involves around seven major network upgrades over the next three to four years, along with stronger protection against future quantum-computer attacks.
- The Foundation aims to complete the main changes by December 2029, although the timeline may change depending on technical progress and development challenges.
Ethereum Will Launch Its Big Tech Revamp
The Ethereum Foundation has released a bold plan to make its blockchain faster, cheaper and more secure by 2029. The roadmap, named ‘Strawmap’, will look to boost its mainnet throughput to 10,000 TPS (transactions per second) up from roughly 30 currently.
The plan will also see Layer 2 networks scale to 10 million TPS, making it more secure to counteract future quantum computer threats. The roadmap is expected to include seven major upgrades, meaning a lot of Ethereum’s fundamental technology could be replaced in the next three to four years.
Introducing strawmap, a strawman roadmap by EF Protocol.
Believe in something. Believe in an Ethereum strawmap.
Who is this for?
The document, available at strawmap[.]org, is intended for advanced readers. It is a dense and technical resource primarily for researchers, developers, and participants in Ethereum governance. Visit ethereum[.]org/roadmap for more introductory material. Accessible explainers unpacking the strawmap will follow soon™.
What is the strawmap?
The strawmap is an invitation to view L1 protocol upgrades through a holistic lens. By placing proposals on a single visual it provides a unified perspective on Ethereum L1 ambitions. The time horizon spans years, extending beyond the immediate focus of All Core Devs (ACD) and forkcast[.]org which typically cover only the next couple of forks.
What are some of the highlights?
The strawmap features five simple north stars, presented as black boxes on the right:
→ fast L1: fast UX, via short slots and finality in seconds
→ gigagas L1: 1 gigagas/sec (10K TPS), via zkEVMs and real-time proving
→ teragas L2: 1 gigabyte/sec (10M TPS), via data availability sampling
→ post quantum L1: durable cryptography, via hash-based schemes
→ private L1: first-class privacy, via shielded ETH transfersWhat is the origin story?
The strawman roadmap originated as a discussion starter at an EF workshop in Jan 2026, partly motivated by a desire to integrate lean Ethereum with shorter-term initiatives. Upgrade dependencies and fork constraints became particularly effective at surfacing valuable discussion topics. The strawman is now shared publicly in a spirit of proactive transparency and accelerationism.
Why the “strawmap” name?
“Strawmap” is a portmanteau of “strawman” and “roadmap”. The strawman qualifier is deliberate for two reasons:
1. It acknowledges the limits of drafting a roadmap in a highly decentralized ecosystem. An “official” roadmap reflecting all Ethereum stakeholders is effectively impossible. Rough consensus is fundamentally an emergent, continuous, and inherent uncertain process.
2. It underscores the document’s status as a work-in-progress. Although it originated within the EF Protocol cluster, there are competing views held among its 100 members, not to mention a rich diversity of non-EFer views.The strawmap is not a prediction. It is an accelerationist coordination tool, sketching one reasonably coherent path among millions of possible outcomes.
What is the strawmap time frame?
The strawmap focuses on forks extending through the end of the decade. It outlines seven forks by 2029 based on a rough cadence of one fork every six months. While grounded in current expectations, these timelines should be treated with healthy skepticism. The current draft assumes human-first development. AI-driven development and formal verification could significantly compress schedules.
What do the letters on top represent?
The strawmap is organized as a timeline, with forks progressing from left to right. Consensus layer forks follow a star-based naming scheme with incrementing first letters: Altair, Bellatrix, Capella, Deneb, Electra, Fulu, etc. Upcoming forks such as Glamsterdam and Hegotá have finalized names. Other forks, like I* and J*, have placeholder names (with I* pronounced “I star”).
What do the colors and arrows represent?
Upgrades are grouped into three color-coded horizontal layers: consensus (CL), data (DL), execution (EL). Dark boxes denote headliners (see below), grey boxes indicate offchain upgrades, and black boxes represent north stars. An explanatory legend appears at the bottom.
Within each layer, upgrades are further organized by theme and sub-theme. Arrows signal hard technical dependencies or natural upgrade progressions. Underlined text in boxes links to relevant EIPs and write-ups.
What are headliners?
Headliners are particularly prominent and ambitious upgrades. To maintain a fast fork cadence, the modern ACD process limits itself to one consensus and one execution headliner per fork. For example, in Glamsterdam, these headliners are ePBS and BALs, respectively.
(L* is an exceptional fork, displaying two headliners tied to the bigger lean consensus fork. Lean consensus landing in L* would be a fateful coincidence.)
Will the strawmap evolve?
Yes, the strawmap is a living and malleable document. It will evolve alongside community feedback, R&D advancements, and governance. Expect at least quarterly updates, with the latest revision date noted on the document.
Can I share feedback?
Yes, feedback is actively encouraged. The EF Protocol strawmap is maintained by the EF Architecture team: @adietrichs, @barnabemonnot, @fradamt, @drakefjustin. Each has open DMs and can be reached at first.name@ethereum[.]org. General inquiries can be sent to strawmap@ethereum[.]org.
— Justin Drake (@drakefjustin) February 25, 2026
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that this represents the third major step in the evolution of the network. Comparing the complexity of the project to the 2022 Merge, where Ethereum moved away from mining to a proof-of-stake system. Not only will transactions be faster, but they will also be cheaper.
Mainnet will see its throughput increased over 300 times and Layer 2 networks, which help carry out transactions off the main blockchain, to increase their throughput to 10 million TPS.
This will see Ethereum implement new verification processes for transactions. Rather than every participant carrying out complex calculations, they will use small cryptographic proofs to show that calculations have been carried out correctly. This can reduce the burden on the network.
A major aspect of the roadmap will also include becoming more quantum proof. Some of the cryptography used today could be at risk if powerful quantum computers emerge. Ethereum will look to gradually move away from this and implement more secure options.
The roadmap will also see improvements to privacy. This will ensure transaction details are kept private, but also provide proof of regulation compliance.
Seven Upgrades Expected
The Foundation expect roughly one upgrade every six months. These include the Glamsterdam upgrade in 2026 and Hegota in 2027. Other upgrades will include transaction verification.
However, the December 2029 date is not certain. The Foundation has already pushed back some upgrades. Certain aspects will be moved to 2029 and 2030. All major upgrades will require software changes to be made by developers, clients and nodes.
The project may also struggle with funding and development capability. In June the Foundation laid off 54 staff members (around 20%). They also announced that their operating budget had been reduced by 40% so they can focus on development.
Ethereum is also facing a tough time in the market. Their ETPs saw $1.61 billion of outflows in October.
Ultimately, the success of the Strawmap depends on how well the developers can implement these upgrades without causing issues with stability and compatibility. If they can do this, the network should be faster, cheaper and more prepared for future security challenges.
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