Ethereum has a new plan to become fast, cheap, and scalable. A draft roadmap, called the "Strawmap," outlines roughly seven hard forks by 2029, each arriving about every six months.
The plan aims to cut transaction finality from about 16 minutes to as little as 6 seconds. It also targets 10,000 transactions per second on the main network, with Layer 2 capacity potentially reaching 10 million TPS.
The key to faster finality is a mechanism called "Minimmit." The throughput jump on Layer 1 would be enormous, up from a current capacity of 15 to 30 TPS. The roadmap also prioritizes post-quantum cryptography to defend against future quantum computer attacks.
A privacy upgrade is included, allowing for shielded ETH transfers to hide balances and transaction history.
Vitalik Buterin endorsed the plan, calling the cumulative upgrades a "ship of Theseus" transformation where the network is gradually rebuilt.
This remains a draft. Ethereum has a history of delayed upgrades, like the Merge in 2022. The aggressive pace of seven forks in three years is a major test for the network.
Investors should watch if the first fork ships on schedule, as it will signal if the six-month cadence is realistic.