Ethereum Foundation Publishes 2026 Protocol Roadmap: Three Strategic Tracks Revealed
By Raj Patel | March 3, 2026
The Ethereum Foundation has released its Protocol Priorities Update for 2026, outlining a comprehensive roadmap centered on three strategic tracks: Scale, Improve UX, and Harden the L1.
Scale: Expanding Network Capacity
The Scale track combines L1 execution layer expansion with blob data availability improvements. The upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade will introduce Block-level Access Lists, enabling parallel transaction processing across multiple CPU cores – a fundamental shift from sequential to concurrent execution.
Additionally, ePBS (enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation) will be integrated into the protocol, reducing reliance on external MEV relays and improving validator economics. Gas limits are targeted to reach 100 million or higher, with some proposals suggesting 200 million.
Improve UX: Solving L2 Fragmentation
The Foundation aims to make Ethereum “feel like one chain” again through the Open Intents Framework and Ethereum Interoperability Layer (EIL). These initiatives will enable seamless asset transfers between L2 networks without users managing complex bridging operations.
Native account abstraction through EIP-7701 and EIP-8141 will make smart contract wallets the default, eliminating EOA complexity and enabling features like social recovery and sponsored transactions.
Harden the L1: Security Enhancements
FOCIL (Fork-Choice Inclusion Lists, EIP-7805) will provide censorship resistance by empowering validators to force transaction inclusion. A dedicated post-quantum research team is developing migration paths to quantum-resistant signatures.
Vitalik Buterin has outlined plans to compress slot times from 12 seconds toward 2 seconds through progressive reductions, dramatically improving transaction confirmation times.
Protocol development timelines are subject to change. This article is for informational purposes.
glamsterdam with parallel execution is the real deal here. sequential processing has been eths biggest bottleneck for years
agreed on glamsterdam. ePBS is underrated too, cutting MEV relay dependency is huge for validator economics
ePBS cutting MEV relay dependency is huge for validator economics. the current relay oligopoly is a centralized choke point
ePBS removing external MEV relays is the real upgrade here. validators losing MEV revenue to Flashbots et al was always a leak in the value chain
glamsterdam shipping block-level access lists would be the biggest l1 throughput upgrade since eip-1559. about time ethereum focused on raw execution
ePBS cutting MEV relay dependency is huge for validator economics. current relay oligopoly is a choke point
gaslimit_watcher 100M gas with parallel execution sounds great until you run a node. state bloat at current gas limits is already brutal for hobbyists
Tomas H. state bloat at 100M gas is the real blocker. parallel execution via access lists helps throughput but every hobbyist node now needs to store and validate concurrent state diffs. ssd costs go brrr
ef 2026 roadmap with glamsterdam eips for 100m gas and eip 7701 smart contract wallets at eth 2665 is the plan
100M gas limit has been proposed since 2021. wake me when it actually ships to mainnet
tobias r is right to be skeptical on 100M gas limit. been proposed since 2021 but glamsterdam might actually deliver
tobias was right to be skeptical in 2021 but glamsterdam has actual devnet implementations running. access lists went through 3 EIP iterations. different stage now
EIP-7701 making smart contract wallets the default is massive. no more seed phrase anxiety for normies
EIP-7701 making smart contract wallets default is massive for onboarding. seed phrases are the biggest UX barrier for new users
100m gas limit is ambitious but the parallel execution via access lists is what makes it feasible. sequential processing at that scale would melt validators
100M gas limit is ambitious but Glamsterdam parallel execution via access lists is what makes it feasible. sequential processing at 100M would melt nodes
Lasse B. parallel execution at 100M gas is the dream but nobody mentions the state bloat problem. every node now needs to validate concurrent txs AND store the resulting state diffs. storage requirements go parabolic
rollup_skeptic_ 100m gas limit with parallel execution still leaves state bloat as the big open issue
100M gas limit with parallel execution is the real deal. sequential processing cant scale at those levels
gas_monitor parallel execution via access lists is the actual unlock. 100M gas limit doesnt help if you still process sequentially
EIP-7701 making smart contract wallets default will solve seed phrase anxiety for normies
ePBS killing the relay oligopoly is the real sleeper upgrade. Flashbots controlling 80%+ of MEV distribution was never sustainable
three tracks: scale, UX, harden. the fact that UX is a first-class priority now and not an afterthought shows the EF finally listened to user complaints about L1 friction
epbs finally killing the mev relay dependency is huge. validators should not be trusting off-chain infrastructure for block production revenue
EIP-7701 is the sleeper upgrade. smart contract wallets as default means account abstraction ships natively on L1. no more patchwork L2 workarounds for basic UX fixes