What Ethereum’s Core Architects Are Thinking About the Future

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The future of Ethereum hinges on a handful of critical technical, economic, and philosophical decisions being shaped by the researchers and developers within the Ethereum Foundation (EF) and broader core community. In a recent Reddit AMA, EF members provided rare insights into their thinking on ETH’s value, Layer 1 scalability, Layer 2 evolution, MEV, decentralization, and long-term protocol sustainability. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of what they’re prioritizing—and why it matters.

ETH Value Accumulation: The Foundation of Ethereum’s Success

At the heart of Ethereum’s long-term viability is the role of ETH as a monetary asset. Multiple EF researchers emphasized that ETH value accumulation is not just beneficial—it’s essential.

“ETH is money,” said Justin Drake of the Ethereum Foundation. “For Ethereum to become the programmable currency of the internet, ETH must accumulate value through fee revenue and monetary premium.”

This value serves three critical functions:

Even if individual transaction fees drop below a cent—thanks to Layer 2 scaling—high-volume activity (e.g., 10 million transactions per second) could still generate billions in daily revenue. The key metric isn’t per-transaction cost but total system throughput and fee capture.

Anders Elowsson added that sustainable economic activity on Ethereum naturally leads to ETH value accrual. Settlements in ETH, combined with fee-burning mechanisms like EIP-1559, redistribute value to all holders. Over time, this reinforces security through staking and makes ETH an attractive reserve asset—even for the EF’s own treasury.

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Ethereum Foundation Funding and Core Development

The health of Ethereum’s ecosystem also depends on the longevity and independence of its core contributors.

Vitalik Buterin clarified that the EF operates on a sustainable spending model: 15% of remaining funds are spent annually, ensuring perpetual existence, albeit with gradually diminishing influence over time.

Justin Drake estimated the EF has about 10 years of runway based on current holdings (~$650M in ETH) and annual expenditures (~$100M). This buffer allows long-term research without immediate fundraising pressure—though it fluctuates with ETH price movements.

Who Are the “Core Developers”?

Contrary to popular belief, EF researchers are just one part of Ethereum’s core development. Vitalik noted that many critical contributors come from independent client teams like Nethermind, Besu, and Nimbus. Carl Beekhuizen emphasized that “core developers” are a loosely defined group—anyone contributing meaningfully to clients or tooling can be considered part of this decentralized effort.

However, talent shortages remain a concern. Vitalik highlighted a critical shortage in p2p networking expertise, an often-overlooked but vital area for decentralization.

EF’s Stance on DeFi

While the EF doesn’t have an official position on DeFi, individual researchers see its potential. Dankrad Feist praised decentralized stablecoins as DeFi’s most valuable contribution—though he acknowledged current scalability limits push many toward custodial solutions.

He also noted that DeFi lacks “real-world” asset backing today but believes it can evolve into the central hub for future financial activity—if infrastructure matures.

The Future of Ethereum Layer 1

Despite the rise of Layer 2s, Layer 1 innovation remains a top priority. The goal isn’t to compete with Rollups but to support them with better data availability and execution efficiency.

Short-Term Scaling Strategies

Vitalik outlined several near-term upgrades:

These changes pave the way for higher gas limits and improved performance without sacrificing decentralization.

Long-Term Vision: SNARK-Powered L1

Justin Drake envisions a future where SNARKs enable near-unlimited L1 scalability. By proving EVM execution off-chain, validators could verify blocks cheaply—even on mobile devices.

This opens the door to radical innovations like:

Drake cautioned that physical limits still exist—especially around calldata and state growth—but projects like MegaETH suggest L1 throughput could reach 100,000 TPS.

Dankrad Feist stressed that while Rollups will handle most scaling, L1 execution improvements are complementary, potentially boosting performance 10x–1000x through zkEVMs and parallelization.

Data Availability and Blob Pricing

With EIP-4844 introducing blob transactions for Rollups, pricing dynamics are under scrutiny. Dankrad warned against artificially inflating blob prices to boost revenue—doing so might push secure Rollups to alternative DA layers like Celestia or EigenLayer.

Justin Drake believes blob demand will grow organically. Projects like Base, Scroll, and Taiko are already optimizing blob usage, extending the timeline for price discovery.

If demand lags, Davide Crapis suggested adjusting minimum fees or accelerating upgrades—but only after maximizing capacity first.

Reducing Reliance on Centralized Infrastructure

Despite progress, most users rely on centralized endpoints like Infura. Vitalik proposed a solution: make lightweight clients standard in consumer wallets.

Projects like Helios are close to enabling this. Extending light-client guarantees to Layer 2s is even more feasible, as L2s already treat L1 as a trust root.

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What If Bitcoin Builds a Strong L2?

Could Bitcoin challenge Ethereum if it implements OP_CAT and builds a robust L2 stack? Vitalik argued Ethereum still holds key advantages:

Key Research Areas at the Ethereum Foundation

Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZK)

ZK technology is central to Ethereum’s roadmap. George Kadianakis highlighted ongoing research into:

Justin Drake noted that **proving all L1 blocks with SNARKs could cost under $100K/year by 2025**, thanks to ASICs and software optimizations. Formal verification of zkEVMs—backed by a $20M fund—is also underway.

Verifiable Delay Functions (VDF)

Once seen as critical for randomness, VDFs have been deprioritized. Antonio Sanso stated that VDFs are not currently recommended for Ethereum due to unresolved security and implementation challenges.

Justin Drake acknowledged their potential—especially for fair leader election and global lotteries—but admitted progress has been slower than expected. The MinRoot VDF ASIC exists but requires further integration work.

MEV and Protocol Upgrades

MEV remains a major focus. Barnabé Monnot outlined two tracks:

While BRAID aims to eliminate MEV advantages entirely, Justin Drake prefers FOCIL + APS for being less disruptive and more immediately feasible.

He critiqued BRAID’s risk of centralization: large operators controlling multiple proposers could dominate MEV extraction—a “MEV jackpot” scenario harmful to decentralization.

Ensuring Credible Neutrality

To resist censorship—especially from regulatory pressure—the EF is advancing inclusion list (IL) mechanisms. FOCIL allows decentralized validator sets to force transaction inclusion, reducing reliance on centralized block builders.

Rainbow staking proposals are also explored to diversify service providers and enhance protocol neutrality.

Addressing Over-Issuance and Inflation

With ETH currently inflating due to low burn rates post-EIP-4844, long-term monetary policy is under debate.

Justin Drake supports a smart issuance curve that tapers toward zero as staking approaches a soft cap (e.g., 25–50% of supply). The main hurdle? Social coordination—not technical feasibility.

Anders Elowsson discussed using PID controllers to dynamically adjust rewards based on staking levels. While powerful, they risk negative yields or excessive issuance if misconfigured. Alternatives like MEV burning are being studied but remain experimental.

Can ETH be both deflationary and support low user fees? Yes—but only through massive scale. Millions of users paying tiny fees can generate significant total burn. The key is expanding capacity so demand grows faster than issuance.

The Role of Layer 2s: Collaboration, Not Competition

Base’s Gas Limits and Blob Demand

Vitalik analyzed Base’s path to 1 Ggas/sec. At current efficiency (~214 gas/byte), this would require ~4.67 MB/sec—far beyond planned DA capacity (1.33 MB/sec). Solutions include:

Francesco estimated Base might need ~60 blobs/slot under realistic usage—within reach if compression improves.

Improving L2 UX

Fragmentation across L2s harms user experience. Carl Beekhuizen is推动 the Rollup Improvement Proposal (RIP) framework—a neutral forum for standardizing features like multi-dimensional pricing.

Standardization in wallets and bridges—pushed by Vitalik—is also critical to unify cross-chain interactions.

Are L2s Becoming Too Dependent?

Max Resnick’s critique of L2 “parasitism” sparked debate. Justin Drake argued that L2 revenue (e.g., Base’s congestion fees) comes from VM usage—not sequencing per se. Even decentralized sequencers would capture similar fees.

MEV extraction on L2s is rare because it degrades user experience. Instead, L2s use centralized sequencers as “training wheels” for security and MEV protection while building toward decentralized alternatives like SUAVE.

Vitalik stressed that decentralized sequencing isn’t urgent—more important are labor-inclusive channels and trustless bridges. Fee collection and decentralization are orthogonal; economic incentives align over time.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will ETH ever become deflationary again?
A: Yes—through higher transaction volume and potential MEV burning. As L2 adoption grows, total fee burn could exceed issuance, driving net deflation even with low per-transaction costs.

Q: Can Ethereum scale without sacrificing decentralization?
A: Absolutely. Technologies like ZK-SNARKs, Verkle trees, and light clients allow massive throughput while keeping full nodes feasible on consumer hardware.

Q: Why not let Bitcoin dominate smart contracts?
A: Bitcoin’s design limits its flexibility. Ethereum’s superior DA bandwidth, faster finality, PoS security, and culture of innovation make it better suited for global-scale applications.

Q: Are centralized L2 sequencers a threat?
A: They’re a temporary trade-off for security and UX. Most teams plan to decentralize over time. Economic incentives align with fair sequencing—especially as shared sequencing standards emerge.

Q: How does Ethereum resist government censorship?
A: Through inclusion lists (ILs), FOCIL, diverse validator participation, and social coordination. These tools ensure transactions get included even under regulatory pressure.

Q: What’s the biggest bottleneck in Ethereum development?
A: Talent. Areas like p2p networking, formal verification, and ZK research need more skilled contributors. Community-driven education and grants are key to solving this.