Ethereum is preparing its third major iteration, a rebuild Vitalik Buterin ranks alongside the network's founding epochs. The plan, known as Lean Ethereum, aims to replace almost every major piece of the protocol over the next three to four years.
The roadmap includes replacing the cryptography securing the chain with quantum-resistant schemes, verifying transactions using recursive STARKs, and splitting the storage model into two tiers. The virtual machine that runs every application will eventually be replaced by a new engine, with the EVM surviving as a high-level compiler target.
The Ethereum Foundation has cut its budget by 40% and staff by a fifth, making this the most ambitious bet in crypto from a weak position. Buterin estimates that fees could fall by more than ten times under the new system, while deeply stateful systems may need to stay put.