Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has outlined a long-term vision to achieve 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) across Ethereum’s Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) networks. Buterin detailed this goal in a blog post on Thursday, emphasizing that the rollup-centric scaling roadmap will remain central to Ethereum’s strategy but will require further refinements.
“The Surge” and the Path Ahead
Buterin described the upcoming phase of the roadmap as “The Surge,” which focuses on completing the rollup-based scaling vision while maintaining robustness, decentralization, and security at the L1 level.
“Our task is to bring the rollup-centric roadmap to completion and solve these problems, while preserving the robustness and decentralization that makes the Ethereum L1 special,” Buterin wrote.
Aside from the ambitious 100,000 TPS goal, other key objectives include:
- Maintaining decentralization and security on the Ethereum mainnet
- Maximizing interoperability across various Layer 2 networks
- Ensuring scalability for emerging high-volume, low-value applications
Overcoming Bandwidth Challenges
Despite recent upgrades like Dencun, Ethereum still lacks the speed required to support extensive user applications, Buterin noted. One key improvement lies in data availability sampling, which enables nodes to verify data without downloading everything, enhancing both speed and efficiency.
Buterin set a medium-term goal of achieving 16 MB of bandwidth per slot, which could push Ethereum to handle up to 58,000 TPS—a significant leap from the current 375 kB per slot for rollups. However, Buterin acknowledged that even this level of throughput may not suffice for sectors like consumer payments or decentralized social media.
For these high-volume applications, Buterin proposed revisiting Plasma, a scaling solution where operators post blocks off-chain and record Merkle roots on-chain, to reduce on-chain congestion.
Scaling the Mainnet: Balancing Gas Limits and Decentralization
Buterin also explored ways to scale the Ethereum mainnet, including modifying the gas limit strategy. While raising gas limits is the simplest way to increase throughput, he cautioned that it could lead to centralization and undermine the security of the L1 network.
“The easiest way to scale is to simply increase the gas limit,” Buterin explained. “However, this risks centralizing the L1, weakening its credibility as a robust base layer.”
As a potential solution, Buterin suggested charging different fees based on transaction type and adopting a more efficient bytecode format called EOF to lower costs without compromising decentralization.
Ongoing Refinements to Ethereum’s Design
Buterin’s latest post follows an earlier blog where he addressed technical challenges such as 15-minute block finalization times and the 32 ETH requirement for validators. These posts reflect a growing focus on overcoming Ethereum’s scalability constraints as it evolves into a more efficient and user-friendly blockchain.
With both technological upgrades and strategic scaling efforts underway, Ethereum aims to solidify its position as a leading smart contract platform—balancing speed, security, and decentralization for the future of Web3.
