Compiled by: Baihua Blockchain

Like all blockchain projects, Ethereum does not evolve through a single “Ethereum 2.0” event, but instead is upgraded through coordinated changes called **“hard forks”. Since the “Merge” in September 2022, the focus of developers has been onscalability, reducing transaction costs, improving nodes** and reducing the hosting of nodes and validators. The goal of the Ethereum community is to conduct approximately two major upgrades each year under conditions of research and testing recovery,.

Ethereum's Rollup-Centric Scaling Strategy

Ethereum's scaling plan relies onLayer-2 networks. These are independent blockchains built on top of Ethereum that handle transactions off-chain, returning the results to Ethereum for security and settlement. Many Layer-2 systems utilizeRollup technology, packing multiple transactions and publishing them to Ethereum. This allows Ethereum to support more activities while consuming less when processing each transaction on the mainnet. Therefore, most of the current cost development work on Ethereum is centered onthe networks and interfaces used by Rollups.

Six Stages of the Ethereum Roadmap

In July 2022, Ethereum co-founderVitalik Buterin described the network's roadmap as consisting of six stages:The Merge, The Surge, The Scourge, The Verge, The Purge, and The Splurge. These stages are not singular upgrades but broad goals, with multiple phases advancing together.

• The Merge: Completed. Ethereum transitioned from proof of work to proof of stake, reducingby approximately 99.95%.

• The Surge: In progress. The focus is onscaling Ethereum to enable Rollups to process more transactions in an astonishing manner.

• The Scourge: In progress. Concentrated onreducing intermediaries in block production, addressing and solving the maximum extractable value (MEV) issue.

• The Verge: In progress. Aimed at introducingVerkle trees and related changes to reduce the resources required to validate the Ethereum state.

• The Purge: In progress. Focused oncleaning up data and simplifying the protocol, making Ethereum easier to maintain.

• The Splurge: Mainly a series of small improvements and long-term upgrades aimed at enhancingavailability and efficiency.

Ethereum Upgrade Timeline

Ethereum's roadmap is implemented through a series of hard forks.

Completed Upgrades

• September 2022 — The Merge: Ethereum transitioned from proof of work toproof of stake. Validators now lock ETH for network security. This upgrade changed the security mechanism but does not directly reduce costs or increase speed.

• April 2023 — Shanghai/Shapella: Enabledvalidator withdrawal functionality, allowing early stakers to withdraw funds.

• March 2024 — Dencun: IntroducedProto-Danksharding (EIP-4844). It added temporary “Blob” storage space, significantlyreducing the cost of Layer-2 networks.

• May 2025 — Pectra: Combined with the Prague and Electra upgrades. IntroducedEIP-7702, allowing regular wallet functions to operate like smart accounts (such as batch transactions). Meanwhile, increased the maximum effective staking amount for validators from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETHand enhanced the ability to handle Rollup data.

• December 2025 — Fusaka: Activatedpeer data availability sampling (PeerDAS), allowing validators to verify aggregate data through sampling without having to download all data. This supports larger data capacities without increasing hardware requirements.

Planned and Upcoming Upgrades

• 2026 — Glamsterdam (Expected): Core developer goals are set for mid-2026. The focus is on achieving moretransaction execution through “block-level access lists,” proposedproposer-builder separation (ePBS) directly integrated into the protocol to improve throughput. Additionally, adjusting state costs to keep up with time-series database growth and exploringreducing ETH cross-chain fees and chain consensus addresses.

• Second Half of 2026 — Hegota: The key goal is to adoptVerkle trees, which will allow nodes to verify data with minimal proofs, pushing Ethereum towarda stateless design that reduces labor. Developers are exploringFOCIL (Fork Choice Forced Include List) to enhance censorship resistance and supportgas sponsorship (natural gas sponsorship) and social smart account related changes.

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Source: https://decrypt.co/resources/whats-on-ethereum-roadmap-glamsterdam-hegota-beyond