Ethereum Roadmap: Past Upgrades and Future Prospects

Next year will mark a decade since Ethereum launched, and it has had a pioneering position in blockchain technology. Thanks to the Ethereum Virtual Machine, its architecture makes a wide range of decentralised applications possible. To stay at the top, Ethereum uses a dynamic roadmap, which directs continuous improvements and updates.

An essential part of this process is the Ethereum Improvement Proposal, which asks the Ethereum community for contributions to improve and develop the network. The main stages of the Ethereum roadmap, which include beacon chain upgrades, are designed to increase the network security, scalability, and efficiency. 

Every upgrade within the Ethereum ecosystem is carefully planned and executed, from lowering the cost of data storage to improving the functioning of the Ethereum blockchain. The tight collaboration between Ethereum developers and the wider community guarantees that the development plan for Ethereum keeps pace with both user demands and technology breakthroughs.

The significance of the Ethereum network is highlighted by the excitement surrounding the latest Dencun update and future projections. Keep reading and find out more about the updates and future ahead. 

The Beginning and Initial Upgrades

The main purpose of Ethereum’s from the get-go was to create a decentralised application platform. Its Ethereum Machine powered architecture was designed to enable flexible transactions and applications without central authority. The Ethereum network first encountered issues with energy consumption, data storage costs, and scalability.

The Ethereum community and engineers implemented a significant change to the network’s consensus mechanism to address these issues. This change in Ethereum’s sustainability path from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake signified a turning point. The change was intended to lower the network’s energy usage drastically.

This shift was made more accessible by the Ethereum Improvement Proposal process, which gave participants from across the Ethereum ecosystem a forum to discuss and suggest modifications. A crucial stage in this shift was implementing the beacon chain, which established the foundation for the new consensus process. 

The goal of this update, which was a component of the larger Ethereum development roadmap, was to improve the security and efficiency of the network.

These initiatives demonstrate Ethereum’s dedication to ongoing development, as outlined in the Ethereum upgrade plan. Ethereum prediction indicates that more upgrades and improvements are expected. The Ethereum community continues to lead these advancements and contribute to the blockchain’s continuous development.

The Chronology of Ethereum Roadmap

Let’s now take a look at the recap of stages of Ethereum. 

The Merge

With the Merge, Ethereum underwent a significant turning point in its history as its consensus method shifted from PoW to PoS. The two main issues this modification attempted to address were the requirement for enhanced network security and the effects of PoW on the environment. 

The Ethereum network decreased its energy consumption by implementing Proof of Stake, with an estimated 99% reduction. This change increased Ethereum’s sustainability while also improving network security by making it more costly and challenging for hackers to alter the blockchain.

The Surge

Enhancing the Ethereum network’s scalability to a great extent was the goal of The Surge. Implementing sharding sought to increase the network’s transaction capacity by dividing the data processing workload among several chains. 

Transaction rates were expected to grow from approximately 15 TPS to possibly 100,000 TPS. By guaranteeing that Ethereum could handle increasing user demands and application complexity, the Surge constituted a critical step towards making Ethereum a more feasible platform for large-scale dApps.

The Scourge

The Scourge was the third significant upgrade stage, and the goal was to solve the problems associated with Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) and decentralisation. Ensuring fair and transparent transaction processing was its primary objective. 

The Scourge sought to protect the network from manipulation techniques that would inequitably prioritise transactions or manipulate transaction ordering for financial gain by enacting steps to counter MEV. 

This stage of the roadmap placed a strong emphasis on upholding Ethereum’s core decentralisation premise, which guarantees fair access to transaction processing for all users of the network.

The Verge

The Verge concentrated on bringing cutting-edge data storage options to boost the Ethereum network’s effectiveness and scalability. The Verge attempted to improve how data is stored and made accessible on the blockchain by introducing technologies like stateless clients and Verkle Trees. 

This lowered the cost of storing data and made it simpler for nodes to join the network without needing a lot of hardware. Ethereum’s growth was greatly aided by these advancements without sacrificing efficiency or speed.

The Purge

The Purge was an attempt to improve network performance by removing old data that wasn’t needed. The amount of data recorded on the Ethereum blockchain rose along with its growth, placing more strain on the network’s resources. 

The Purge aimed to reduce network load and improve speed and responsiveness by removing the need to keep outdated data indefinitely. This update allowed the Ethereum network to scale more efficiently while keeping excellent performance.

The Splurge

This phase, which is driven by the comments and contributions of the Ethereum community, focuses on addressing any issues that remain unresolved. Splurge’s attributes include flexibility and adaptability to the demands of the network and its users. 

It emphasises Ethereum’s dedication to ongoing development, guaranteeing that the network will continue to be flexible and able to change to take advantage of new possibilities and challenges.

Milestones in Ethereum’s Development

Some significant improvements set the stage for Ethereum’s development prior to The Merge. These improvements were essential in resolving urgent problems and laying the groundwork for upcoming enhancements. Now, we will discuss some of them:

• Byzantium – As a component of the Metropolis update, Byzantium brought new features to the Ethereum network. It was essential to set up the protocols that would subsequently enable Ethereum to move to a PoS consensus mechanism.
• Constantinople – The Ethereum network’s performance was considerably enhanced by this update. It ensured a smoother road towards Ethereum 2.0 by lowering transaction fees for specific action types and delaying the difficulty bomb in order to get ready for the switch from PoW to PoS.
• Berlin – It prioritised updating the Ethereum Virtual Machine code and maximising gas prices. These adjustments were made with the intention of enhancing user experience overall and managing the massive amount of data produced by the network more effectively.
• London – EIP-1559, a substantial modification to Ethereum’s transaction cost structure, was part of this update. In an effort to lower ETH’s inflation rate and improve transaction predictability, this upgrade added a base fee per block that burns a percentage of transaction fees.

All of this was followed by the Megre, which showed the network’s potential for giant evolutionary leaps and marked a significant advancement in the Ethereum upgrade roadmap. It has paved the way for the following improvements and continues to impact Ethereum’s projections for the network’s capacity for innovation and ecosystem adaptation.

The Latest Update: Dencun

Earlier in 2024, Ethereum implemented the Dencun upgrade, which represented a substantial improvement in its technical capabilities. An essential part of Ethereum’s ongoing development, this upgrade seeks to improve the efficiency and scalability of the network. The goal of the Ethereum Dencun update is to provide Layer 2 scaling solutions with more effective data storage, possibly lowering their operating expenses and, consequently, end-user fees.

The Ethereum community is thinking about the Prague/Electra upgrade after Dencun. The main topic of discussion regarding this possible update is whether to roll out a few central core features all at once or a few minor ones throughout 2024. Ethereum’s roadmap plan for continuous improvement and adaptation to the changing digital ecosystem revolves around these talks.

Critical Components of the Dencun Upgrade

• EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding) – By improving data availability and cutting expenses related to data storage, this proposal seeks to decrease gas fees on Layer 2 networks. As a result, rollup gas fees are expected to drop dramatically, providing network customers with a more economical environment.
• Account Abstraction (ERC-4337, ERC-6900) – These proposals aim to improve account management security and simplify transaction processes to optimise user experiences. A more user-friendly interface with the Ethereum network is made possible via account abstraction, which encourages wider adoption.
• EIP-1153 (Transient Storage Opcodes) – With the goal of optimising gas utilisation and enhancing the effectiveness of contract operations, this method proposes a way for handling transitory data during smart contract execution.
• EIP-4788 (Beacon Block Root Commits) – This proposal aims to improve the network’s overall functionality by guaranteeing more direct access to consensus data and strengthening the connection between the Ethereum Virtual Machine and the Ethereum beacon chain.
• EIP-5656 (MCOPY Opcode) – This upgrade is anticipated to save operating costs and improve performance by optimising memory operations within smart contracts.
• EIP-6780 (Restrict SELFDESTRUCT) – This proposal seeks to simplify state management and stabilise the network by restricting the SELFDESTRUCT function, which will support Ethereum’s long-term scalability and upkeep.

The Role of Community in the Progress

Ethereum’s roadmap is developed with significant input from the community. These developers, Ethereum users, and stakeholders work together to propose and improve updates.

Ethereum improvement proposals are a way to discuss new features, make changes to the Ethereum blockchain, and put those changes into action. By doing this, Ethereum is able to stay at the forefront of blockchain technology as the network adapts to the requirements and insights of its community.

The community’s participation in managing vast data generated, data availability optimisation, and upgrade contributions highlight the teamwork needed to maintain and grow Ethereum. The community uses EIPs to solve issues with externally owned accounts, smart contracts, and the network’s general scalability and security.

Future Directions and Challenges

In addition to technological advancements, Ethereum’s 2024 and beyond roadmap places a strategic focus on using its advantages, most notably its scalability and security characteristics. Maintaining control over the concentration of staked Ethereum and improving the network’s security mechanism is critical as it grows. Technological advancements such as restaking have the potential to expand Ethereum’s use cases and strengthen its position as the backbone of the more extensive blockchain network.

Ethereum’s dedication to a modular design philosophy highlights its attitude to innovation, cooperation, and competition, even in the face of competition. This mindset sets Ethereum up for a new phase of expansion and prominence in the Smart Contract Platform industry, in addition to the network’s developing capabilities and the possibility of an Ethereum ETF.

Final Thoughts

Ethereum’s path since its establishment almost ten years ago emphasises the critical role it plays in blockchain technology. Its commitment to ongoing innovation, driven by contributions from the Ethereum clients, is shown by its dynamic roadmap and the EIP process. Important turning points, like as the switch from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, have been made possible by this cooperative approach, which has improved network efficiency and sustainability.

Scalability and efficiency are the focus of recent innovations, such as the Dencun hard fork, which also aims to manage massive amounts of created data and reduce transaction costs. These improvements, which range from account abstraction to proto-danksharding, show a concentrated effort to improve the Ethereum protocol for a more favourable user experience and broader uptake.