Ethereum is set to become more than just a blockchain, at least not a conventional one. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently described in an essay titled "The Cryptographic World Computer" where the network is headed by 2030. His central message: Ethereum has begun the transition "from a mere blockchain to something far more powerful." It is, in fact, a "hybrid construct" that combines Satoshi Nakamoto's core ideas with cryptographic tools that didn't even exist in 2009.
Verification instead of recalculation: Currently, every node in the network completely recalculates every block. In the future, nodes will only take samples of the data (PeerDAS) and verify cryptographic proofs, known as SNARKs. This will drastically reduce hardware requirements.
Bundled signatures: Instead of many individual signatures per block, only a single, aggregated signature will be placed on the chain.
Distributed block building: The FOCIL mechanism aims to distribute the power to assemble blocks among multiple participants, making censorship more difficult.
Privacy as the default: Private transactions using zero-knowledge proofs are intended to move from a niche product to a built-in feature.
Parallel access to the state: The network must be able to process massive amounts of data in parallel. Buterin considers this potentially more difficult than the efficiency of zero-knowledge proofs.
Two upgrades lie on the path to this goal: Glamsterdam and the subsequent Hegota next year. Buterin describes Hegota as likely the last "normal" fork whose technology would still be "recognizable to someone from 2015": "Everything after that involves recursive STARKs, automated formal verification, highly optimized consensus algorithms, and quantum security."
The essay is also a response to the criticism of recent years. Ethereum had outsourced much of its scaling to Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism, diverting fees and users away from the main chain. At the same time, Solana touts significantly faster transactions. Buterin's plan brings scaling back to the base layer without sacrificing decentralization.
Ethereum Launches Private Payment System for Anonymous AI Payments
When someone pays for an AI service, they typically leave a connection between their payment and subsequent use. The Ethereum Foundation, through its Open Anonymity Project, has developed the zkAPI payment system to break this connection. The new system is already running on the Ethereum mainnet and allows users to pay for AI and other API services without the provider being able to link individual payments to specific deposits.
The Ethereum Foundation therefore also sees applications outside of artificial intelligence as relevant for the new project. The system could be used, for example, for VPN access or other paid APIs where users have to pay without disclosing their payment history to the provider. The biggest future market for this new technology could be its application to autonomous AI agents that independently purchase and pay for digital services.
