TLDR
- Ethereum‘s new “Strawmap” outlines ambitious plans to slash block times from 12 seconds down to just 2 seconds
- Transaction finality will be dramatically reduced from approximately 16 minutes to just 6–16 seconds
- Quantum-resistant security measures using hash-based cryptography are central to the upgrade strategy
- A series of seven protocol forks will roll out approximately every six months
- Throughput targets include 10,000 TPS on the base layer and 10 million TPS on Layer 2 networks
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of [[LINK_START_0]]Ethereum[[LINK_END_0]], has unveiled specifics of an extensive four-year development strategy for the blockchain network. This comprehensive plan centers on a document dubbed the “Strawmap,” which was released by the Protocol team at the Ethereum Foundation.
Originally conceived as an internal planning resource in January 2026, the Strawmap has now been made publicly available. It serves as a working draft that charts one potential trajectory for how Ethereum’s foundation layer might evolve throughout the coming decade.
According to Buterin, the development strategy operates along two parallel but independent pathways. The first pathway concentrates on accelerating block production speeds, while the second emphasizes achieving faster transaction finality.
At present, [[LINK_START_0]]Ethereum[[LINK_END_0]] generates a fresh block every 12 seconds. The new roadmap sets its sights on reducing this interval to merely 2 seconds through a phased approach following an approximate square-root-of-two progression: 12, 8, 6, 4, and finally 2 seconds.
Buterin explained that enhancements to node-to-node communication protocols—referred to as peer-to-peer or p2p upgrades—will enable these reduced block times while maintaining robust security standards.
Currently, achieving transaction finality requires roughly 16 minutes. The ambitious target is to compress this timeframe to somewhere between 6 and 16 seconds.
Quantum Resistance Built Into the Plan
To achieve this accelerated finality, Ethereum developers intend to overhaul the existing confirmation mechanism with a more streamlined alternative. This redesigned system will incorporate post-quantum, hash-based cryptographic methods.
Buterin characterized these modifications as “very invasive set of changes.” The strategy involves pairing the most significant upgrades in both development tracks with a transition to quantum-resistant signature schemes.
An interesting consequence of this incremental implementation approach is that block production infrastructure could achieve quantum resistance ahead of the finality layer. Buterin noted that should quantum computing threats materialize unexpectedly, the network would sacrifice its finality assurances but maintain continuous operation.
Throughput and Privacy Goals
Beyond speed improvements, the Strawmap establishes ambitious benchmarks for network capacity and user privacy. The Layer 1 objective calls for processing 10,000 transactions per second, leveraging zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines combined with real-time proof generation.
Meanwhile, Layer 2 scaling solutions built atop Ethereum are targeting an extraordinary 10 million transactions per second through innovative data availability sampling techniques.
The development plan also prioritizes implementing shielded ETH transfers, which would introduce native privacy features directly into the protocol.
Seven distinct protocol forks are scheduled throughout the four-year timeline, with each fork occurring approximately every six months. Two upcoming forks—Glamsterdam and Hegotá—have already been confirmed for deployment later in 2026.
The Strawmap is explicitly positioned as an evolving framework. The Ethereum Foundation has committed to refreshing the roadmap no less than quarterly, incorporating new research findings and community input as development progresses.
