Ethereum Foundation Shifts Focus to Layer-1 Scaling, User Experience

The Ethereum Foundation, the nonprofit organization behind the Ethereum ecosystem, has announced a strategic shift in its priorities. Following a leadership reshuffle in March, the Foundation is now focusing on enhancing user experience and addressing layer-1 scaling challenges. This change aims to allow Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin more time for research and exploration, rather than dealing with day-to-day tasks and crisis management.

On April 21, the Foundation's co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak shared an update on the organization's changes. He highlighted that Buterin's insights and communications have accelerated major long-term breakthroughs and realigned the community around the organization’s core values. Since the leadership changes, Buterin has stepped back from daily operations and has been publishing proposals addressing the Ethereum network’s privacy and performance limitations.

Ask Aime: How will the Ethereum Foundation's strategic shift impact the overall Ethereum ecosystem?

On April 11, Buterin unveiled a privacy roadmap for the network, proposing features that anonymize user transactions and should be "ideally turned on by default." Additionally, on April 20, he proposed changes to the Ethereum Virtual Machine’s (EVM) contract language to improve the efficiency and speed of the blockchain’s execution layer. Stańczak noted that while Buterin’s proposals carry significant weight, they are intended to start conversations and encourage progress in different research areas.

The Foundation will now concentrate on "near-term" goals, including addressing user experience and scaling challenges in upcoming protocol upgrades. These upgrades, such as Pectra, Fusaka, and Glamsterdam, will focus on layer-1 scaling, support for layer-2 scaling, and user experience improvements, including interoperability. While the focus is on near-term results, the team is also exploring ways to bring in more long-term projects.

The Foundation's decision to prioritize layer-1 scaling is a response to years of underinvestment in this area. While layer-2 solutions have been effective in addressing scalability issues, they have also created new challenges. The Foundation aims to address these challenges by focusing on aggressive scaling plans and initiatives such as zkVMs, which are designed to drastically increase gas efficiency and overall network performance.

This strategic pivot is part of a broader effort to reframe Ethereum's value in the application era. By improving the base layer, the Foundation hopes to create a more robust and efficient network that can support a wider range of applications and use cases. This shift is seen as a make-or-break moment for Ethereum, as it seeks to regain its edge in the competitive blockchain landscape.

The Foundation's new priorities include significant user experience improvements, which are expected to enhance the overall usability of the Ethereum network. These improvements are part of a broader effort to make the network more accessible and user-friendly, which is seen as crucial for attracting new users and developers. The Foundation is also focusing on ecosystem collaboration, working with other organizations and developers to create a more cohesive and interconnected network.

This shift in focus is a significant development for the Ethereum community, signaling a renewed commitment to addressing the network's scalability and usability challenges. By prioritizing layer-1 scaling and user experience improvements, the Foundation is taking a proactive approach to ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of the Ethereum network. This strategic pivot is expected to have a positive impact on the network's performance and usability, making it a more attractive option for developers and users alike.