Today we're sharing our work on interaction models. A new class of model trained from scratch to handle real-time interaction natively, instead of gluing it onto a turn-based one.
https://t.co/MoS5s4cm60
Introducing strawmap, a strawman roadmap by EF Protocol.
Believe in something. Believe in an Ethereum strawmap.
Who is this for?
The document, available at strawmap[.]org, is intended for advanced readers. It is a dense and technical resource primarily for researchers, developers, and participants in Ethereum governance. Visit ethereum[.]org/roadmap for more introductory material. Accessible explainers unpacking the strawmap will follow soon™.
What is the strawmap?
The strawmap is an invitation to view L1 protocol upgrades through a holistic lens. By placing proposals on a single visual it provides a unified perspective on Ethereum L1 ambitions. The time horizon spans years, extending beyond the immediate focus of All Core Devs (ACD) and forkcast[.]org which typically cover only the next couple of forks.
What are some of the highlights?
The strawmap features five simple north stars, presented as black boxes on the right:
→ fast L1: fast UX, via short slots and finality in seconds
→ gigagas L1: 1 gigagas/sec (10K TPS), via zkEVMs and real-time proving
→ teragas L2: 1 gigabyte/sec (10M TPS), via data availability sampling
→ post quantum L1: durable cryptography, via hash-based schemes
→ private L1: first-class privacy, via shielded ETH transfers
What is the origin story?
The strawman roadmap originated as a discussion starter at an EF workshop in Jan 2026, partly motivated by a desire to integrate lean Ethereum with shorter-term initiatives. Upgrade dependencies and fork constraints became particularly effective at surfacing valuable discussion topics. The strawman is now shared publicly in a spirit of proactive transparency and accelerationism.
Why the "strawmap" name?
"Strawmap" is a portmanteau of "strawman" and "roadmap". The strawman qualifier is deliberate for two reasons:
1. It acknowledges the limits of drafting a roadmap in a highly decentralized ecosystem. An "official" roadmap reflecting all Ethereum stakeholders is effectively impossible. Rough consensus is fundamentally an emergent, continuous, and inherent uncertain process.
2. It underscores the document's status as a work-in-progress. Although it originated within the EF Protocol cluster, there are competing views held among its 100 members, not to mention a rich diversity of non-EFer views.
The strawmap is not a prediction. It is an accelerationist coordination tool, sketching one reasonably coherent path among millions of possible outcomes.
What is the strawmap time frame?
The strawmap focuses on forks extending through the end of the decade. It outlines seven forks by 2029 based on a rough cadence of one fork every six months. While grounded in current expectations, these timelines should be treated with healthy skepticism. The current draft assumes human-first development. AI-driven development and formal verification could significantly compress schedules.
What do the letters on top represent?
The strawmap is organized as a timeline, with forks progressing from left to right. Consensus layer forks follow a star-based naming scheme with incrementing first letters: Altair, Bellatrix, Capella, Deneb, Electra, Fulu, etc. Upcoming forks such as Glamsterdam and Hegotá have finalized names. Other forks, like I* and J*, have placeholder names (with I* pronounced "I star").
What do the colors and arrows represent?
Upgrades are grouped into three color-coded horizontal layers: consensus (CL), data (DL), execution (EL). Dark boxes denote headliners (see below), grey boxes indicate offchain upgrades, and black boxes represent north stars. An explanatory legend appears at the bottom.
Within each layer, upgrades are further organized by theme and sub-theme. Arrows signal hard technical dependencies or natural upgrade progressions. Underlined text in boxes links to relevant EIPs and write-ups.
What are headliners?
Headliners are particularly prominent and ambitious upgrades. To maintain a fast fork cadence, the modern ACD process limits itself to one consensus and one execution headliner per fork. For example, in Glamsterdam, these headliners are ePBS and BALs, respectively.
(L* is an exceptional fork, displaying two headliners tied to the bigger lean consensus fork. Lean consensus landing in L* would be a fateful coincidence.)
Will the strawmap evolve?
Yes, the strawmap is a living and malleable document. It will evolve alongside community feedback, R&D advancements, and governance. Expect at least quarterly updates, with the latest revision date noted on the document.
Can I share feedback?
Yes, feedback is actively encouraged. The EF Protocol strawmap is maintained by the EF Architecture team: @adietrichs, @barnabemonnot, @fradamt, @drakefjustin. Each has open DMs and can be reached at first.name@ethereum[.]org. General inquiries can be sent to strawmap@ethereum[.]org.
Post Quantum Signature Aggregation: a Folding Approach
Ethereum’s transition to post-quantum security presents a massive scalability challenge. We must turn to recursive SNARKs for sig agg.
With @srinathtv we wrote a post about the options! 👇
https://t.co/wpgCTqmFon
The latest @zksync - $ZK proposal signals a major shift in how value will flow through the zksync ecosystem🧭
Our team broke it all down into a clean, high-signal infographic—covering interop fees, enterprise licensing, and the full economic loop ahead.
A look at what this upgrade really means for the network.
Introducing Vega, a folding-based ZK proof system for client-side proving tasks (e.g., age over 18, proof of humanity)!
Vega is fast with ~200 ms of prover time and 50 ms of verifier time for an end-to-end mDL-based ZK proof of age (including device binding)!
1/ New survey: Sum-check is all you need.
Just posted a survey on the design principles behind Jolt and fast-prover SNARKs more broadly. It's arguably the first time the core ideas have all been written down in one place.
ZisK has reached a major proving milestone for Ethereum.
All Ethereum blocks are now being proven in real time, with an average proof time of about 7.5s
What’s the simplest and *general-purpose* ZK proof construction you’ve seen? By ZK, I mean real ZK.
I think the simplest is BlindFold. (Link in the next post.)
Things get wild when Solana techs unite.
Just completed a massive stress test on @solanamobile.
Seeker performance goes so hard!
500 players & agents hitting 150 TPS (for real) in a rolled-out test environment.
Powered by @magicblock Ephemeral Rollups, we’re ready to scale into an onchain world capable of millions of actions in real time.
OPOS.
Excited to share our new paper: https://t.co/EIsfIsZAW4! We made Groth16 dynamic - proofs can now be efficiently updated when the witness changes slightly. Amazing that after 10 years, we still have new insights of Groth16 and Pinocchio. Joint work with two brilliant new students