The Ethereum Foundation (EF) conducted a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session a few hours ago, addressing some of the remaining challenges around scaling, Layer 1 revenue, and security.
The conversation, among leadership changes and community scrutiny, touched on the upcoming Pectra upgrade, Ethereum’s economic model, and long-term scaling strategies.
In a Reddit comment, top EF researcher Justin Drake said that the first step of the two-phase Pectra update is expected to begin rolling out in the coming months.
Notably, the update will double the number of “blob” transactions per block from three to six, which Drake said will “crush the blob fee market”. The foundation’s security team also opened a $2 million bug bounty competition to stress test the hard fork, which will run until March 24.
Buterin defends economic strategy amid L2 and custody concerns
As Layer 2 solutions are more widely used, EF researchers stressed the importance of the Ethereum base layer. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin hit back at concerns over the network’s economic positioning, repeating the case for taking a cut of revenue from the L2s and “native roll-ups.”
He also warned of the dangers staking providers, wallets, and custody services could pose and urged interoperability standards to maintain Ethereum’s decentralization.
“The goal is neutrality of Ethereum, not neutrality of the Ethereum Foundation — often, the two align, but sometimes they misalign, and when that happens, we should go for the former,” Buterin said in response to a question about a potential “corporate takeover” of Ethereum.
Discussions also occurred on raising the base fee for blob transactions (EIP-7762). Although some community members welcome a rise in fees, EF researchers maintain that keeping costs low will spur higher uptake and economic growth.
EF researcher Barnabé Monnot expressed concerns that such a change would require the network to determine an appropriate tax level, similar to fiscal policy.
As the data layer continuously grows, this poses a scaling challenge for Ethereum. Drake and co-researcher Dankrad Feist took the rejection of the theory a step further, saying that EigenLayer’s so-called altDA solution does not put Ethereum’s revenues in danger. Instead, they believe there is room for various approaches to data availability—blobs, EigenDA, etc.—to coexist. Drake even speculated about Ethereum settling 10 million transactions per second within 10 years, producing $1 bn in daily revenue.
The AMA also mentioned ongoing scaling strategy development for Ethereum, as the major Layer 2 solutions — Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, and Scroll — are looking to integrate natively roll-up. EF’s Ansgar Dietrichs said the competitive roll-up landscape had spurred innovation in areas like zero-knowledge proofs and interoperability.
With Ethereum development now more focused on detailed engineering and less on rapid experimentation, Buterin adds that he still sees light at the end of the tunnel for many of these technical questions.
Ethereum Foundation faces leadership scrutiny as Miyaguchi transitions to new role
AMA’s discussions come as Ethereum has faced mounting criticism that the network is losing ground to rival blockchains, such as Solana, and that Ethereum leadership has been ineffective and too hands-off in its support of builders. Calls for the Foundation to replace the executive director, Aya Miyaguchi, intensified in January, and co-founder Vitalik Buterin has hinted at changes in the top positions for months.
Still, Miyaguchi wrote in a blog post on Tuesday that she is soon assuming a new role as president of the Switzerland-based nonprofit.
Within the new role, Miyaguchi wrote that she will continue supporting the Ethereum Foundation’s “institutional partnerships.” Miyaguchi has served as executive director since 2018.
In the blog post, Miyaguchi underscored the Foundation’s focus on credible neutrality, saying its “role has never been to control or own all domains in Ethereum” but rather promote values that align with decentralization.
Under Miyaguchi’s leadership, Ethereum underwent significant transformations. In 2022, the network transitioned to a proof-of-stake consensus model, reducing its carbon footprint by 99% through the so-called merger. Additionally, Ethereum adopted a layer-2-focused roadmap, leveraging scaling solutions to enhance its efficiency and expand its capabilities.
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Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/ethereum-foundation-outlines-networks-future/