Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has once again charted a bold technical roadmap for the network’s evolution, outlining concrete goals for The Surge—a pivotal phase in Ethereum’s long-term scaling journey. In a recent in-depth article titled “Possible Futures of Ethereum Protocol (Part 2: The Surge),” Buterin details how Ethereum aims to achieve over 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) across Layer 1 and Layer 2, enhance cross-L2 interoperability, and strengthen L1 scalability without sacrificing decentralization.
This vision isn’t just about raw speed—it’s about transforming Ethereum from a single blockchain into a unified, scalable, and user-friendly ecosystem where Layer 2s operate seamlessly as extensions of the main network.
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Scaling to 100K+ TPS: The Technical Foundations
To overcome the blockchain trilemma—balancing scalability, security, and decentralization—Vitalik emphasizes two key technological pathways: Data Availability Sampling (DAS) combined with SNARKs, and the resurgence of Plasma architectures enhanced by zero-knowledge proofs.
Data Availability at Scale
At the heart of Ethereum’s scaling strategy lies data availability. For rollups to function securely, their transaction data must be publicly accessible on L1. Buterin highlights two advanced DAS implementations—PeerDAS and SubnetDAS—as critical for increasing bandwidth.
The mid-term goal? Achieve 16MB of data availability per slot (every 12 seconds). When combined with improved rollup data compression techniques, this could support approximately 58,000 TPS.
Key optimization strategies include:
- Random sampling across and within blobs (1D and 2D DAS) to improve verification efficiency.
Advanced data compression, such as:
- Using BLS signatures to reduce signature size.
- Replacing 20-byte addresses with 4-byte indices pointing to historical records.
- Custom serialization of transaction values to minimize on-chain footprint.
These refinements are essential for maximizing throughput while minimizing cost and resource usage.
Generalized Plasma: Unlocking Ultra-High Throughput
Beyond rollups, Buterin revisits Generalized Plasma—a hybrid model blending Plasma’s off-chain computation with rollup-like data availability guarantees. Projects like Intmax demonstrate this potential, achieving theoretical throughput of up to 266,667 TPS (16 million gas / 12 seconds / 5 gas per operation).
This architecture allows for:
- Near-infinite scalability for specific use cases.
- Strong privacy guarantees through selective data disclosure.
- Reduced reliance on L1 for every transaction.
While not suitable for all applications, Generalized Plasma offers a promising path for high-frequency, privacy-sensitive dApps operating within Ethereum’s trust model.
Seamless Cross-Layer Interoperability: Building One Ethereum Ecosystem
One of Ethereum’s biggest challenges today is fragmentation. With dozens of L2s—each acting as its own chain—users face clunky bridges, inconsistent UX, and trust compromises. Buterin envisions a future where interacting across L2s feels as natural as using a single network.
To achieve this, he proposes several interoperability upgrades:
Unified Addressing and Payment Requests
Users should be able to send funds across L2s using familiar addresses without manually selecting bridge routes. This simplifies cross-chain transactions and reduces friction.
Standardized Cross-Chain Protocols
Buterin supports open standards like:
- ERC-7683: For atomic cross-chain asset swaps.
- RIP-7755: To enable gas payments in destination chain tokens.
These protocols eliminate the need for wrapped assets and reduce dependency on centralized relayers.
Light Client Verification
Instead of trusting RPC providers, users could run lightweight clients to verify state transitions on remote chains. This preserves decentralization while enabling secure cross-L2 interactions.
Keystore Wallets
A unified wallet keystore would allow users to manage keys across multiple chains from one secure location, reducing complexity and improving security hygiene.
Shared Minimal Rollup Bridge
A single minimal rollup deployed on L1 could serve as a shared liquidity layer for all L2s. This enables fast, low-cost asset transfers between rollups without incurring heavy L1 gas fees.
Synchronous Composability
Enabling direct, synchronous calls between L1 and L2—or even between multiple L2s—would revolutionize DeFi. Imagine flash loans spanning Arbitrum and Optimism, or instant arbitrage across chains without delays.
These improvements require deep collaboration between L2 teams, wallet developers, and core protocol contributors. Buterin stresses that standardization must be timely—neither too early (risking premature lock-in) nor too late (leading to entrenched fragmentation).
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Strengthening Ethereum L1: Beyond Just Scaling
As L2s absorb most transaction volume, L1’s role shifts from processing every transaction to securing and coordinating the broader ecosystem. But this doesn’t mean L1 can stagnate. On the contrary, Buterin argues that L1 must scale too, or risk becoming a bottleneck.
Three key strategies are proposed:
1. Increasing the Gas Limit
Raising the gas limit is the most straightforward way to increase capacity. However, it risks centralizing node operation due to higher hardware requirements.
To counter this:
- Implement state expiry to reduce historical data load.
- Advance stateless clients that verify blocks without storing full state.
- Optimize client software for efficiency and lower resource consumption.
These upgrades help maintain decentralization while allowing larger blocks.
2. Reducing Gas Costs for Specific Operations
Not all operations should cost the same. Buterin advocates for more nuanced pricing models:
- EOF (EVM Object Format): Enables better static analysis and safer smart contracts.
- Multidimensional Gas Pricing: Allows different resources (compute, memory, storage) to be priced independently.
- EVM-MAX and SIMD: New proposals to optimize cryptographic operations, crucial for privacy tools and L2 provers.
Lowering costs for critical operations boosts efficiency across the stack.
3. Native Rollups (Enshrined Rollups)
Perhaps the most forward-looking idea is integrating rollup functionality directly into the Ethereum protocol. Instead of relying on external systems, Ethereum could natively support parallel EVM instances—essentially built-in rollups.
This would:
- Reduce overhead from external proof systems.
- Improve coordination between L1 and L2.
- Enable tighter integration of scaling with consensus.
Buterin cautions that any scaling effort must align with Ethereum’s core philosophy: preserving decentralization, security, and open access. The goal isn’t to move everything to L1—but to ensure L1 remains robust enough to anchor the entire ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is “The Surge” in Ethereum’s roadmap?
A: The Surge is a phase focused on scaling Ethereum to over 100,000 TPS using rollups, data availability improvements, and enhanced interoperability between Layer 2 networks.
Q: How will Ethereum reach 100K TPS?
A: Through a combination of blob-based data availability (DAS), advanced data compression, and technologies like Generalized Plasma and native rollups—all working in tandem across L1 and L2.
Q: What are enshrined rollups?
A: Enshrined rollups are rollup-like systems natively integrated into Ethereum’s protocol, offering tighter security and efficiency compared to current external implementations.
Q: Why is cross-L2 interoperability important?
A: Without it, users face fragmented experiences, trust risks from centralized bridges, and inefficient asset transfers. Seamless interoperability turns Ethereum into a unified ecosystem rather than isolated chains.
Q: Does increasing L1 capacity risk centralization?
A: Yes—hence the need for complementary upgrades like stateless clients and state expiry to keep node operation accessible to regular users.
Q: Are Plasma chains making a comeback?
A: With SNARKs enhancing security, Generalized Plasma is being re-evaluated as a scalable, private alternative for specific applications—not a replacement for rollups, but a complementary solution.
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Conclusion
Vitalik Buterin’s vision for The Surge is both ambitious and pragmatic. It doesn’t chase unrealistic ideals but instead builds on proven concepts—rollups, DAS, Plasma—and refines them into a cohesive strategy for mass adoption.
The future of Ethereum isn’t just faster transactions—it’s a more connected, efficient, and user-centric ecosystem where innovation thrives without compromising core values. As these proposals mature, they bring us closer to an internet-native financial system that’s truly global, open, and resilient.
Core Keywords: Ethereum scalability, The Surge, Layer 2 interoperability, 100K TPS, enshrined rollups, data availability sampling, Generalized Plasma, EVM optimization