Ethereum is right around the corner from implementing Ethereum 2.0 (experts believe that it’ll happen sometime this year), but that hasn’t stopped Vitalik Buterin from laying out the groundwork for the next decade. Here’s what Vitalik sees for Ethereum in the coming 5 to 10 years. 

Phase 0: Prep

In a tweet posted on 18 March, Buterin outlined his ideas for Ethereum over the next decade, starting with phase 0. Let’s take a look at the timeline. 

Phase 0 will start with deposit contracts, more audits, a multi-client testnet, and client optimizations. Then, it’ll move onto peer-to-peer networking preparation for sharding, implementation, more audits, and spec changes in response to the audits of the network. The phase 1 launch will see ultra-scalable roll ups become possible. 

According to Vitalik, “Ultra-scalable rollups use eth2 as the data availability backbone. Eth2 is sharded so can hold waaaaaay more data. This pushes the TPS of eth2-based rollups to ridiculously high levels (100k+).” 

Then we’ll see the emergence of Ethereum 2.0, and the move to a Proof-of-Stake algorithm, which will improve scalability, security, and more. 

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Phase 1: ETH1.x other and ETH1.x statelessness 

Some of the things we’ll see during these stages include, gas repricing, static state access, the implementation of EIP 1559, a state provider network, short term usability relief (and 2-layer improvements to privacy and security), semi-light clients becoming possible at a large scale, and Ethereum 1.0 becoming Ethereum 2.0 friendly. 

When asked how phase 1 and light clients are enough for ultra-scalable rollups, Vitalik replied: “The rollup evaluation logic can exist on eth1, the light client lets it verify that data has been published to the eth2 chain.”

Phase 2: The future 

Phase 2 is still very much up in the air, but Vitalik has some interesting musings about where the blockchain will go. Phase 2 could likely start with a single secret leader election, MPC validator implementation, VDFs, and data availability checks. 

Going on, we could see advanced cryptography in the form of post-quantum crypto (like aggregate signatures), SNARK/STARK friendly state transitions and VM, and eventually the implementation of the CBC Casper consensus algorithm. 

Ethereum 2.0

While we look at what Vitalik sees for Ethereum in the coming 5 to 10 years, let’s take a breath and remember that much of this is still subject to change. This isn’t really even a roadmap, as we don’t know where Ethereum will be in 2 years’ time, let alone 10 years’ time. For now, let’s focus on the implementation of Ethereum 2.0 and how it will impact the user experience of the blockchain. 

ETH 2.0 will make Ethereum vastly more scalable, and able to host the growing dApp and dApp developer community. 

The future of Ethereum looks… lofty 

As we take a look at what Vitalik sees for Ethereum in the coming 5 to 10 years time, it’s clear that the blockchain’s founder has some big plans for the network. With the jury still out on when Ethereum 2.0 will be implemented, it’s likely that we’ll be waiting a while for CBC Casper or any of the other changes Vitalik has outlined. 

Crypto Current Staff

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