Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has revealed a bold proposal to increase Ethereum’s scalability tenfold by 2026, aiming to address long-standing performance limitations and keep the platform competitive in the rapidly evolving blockchain space. The plan centers around a fundamental change to how Ethereum achieves block finality, setting the stage for a more responsive, efficient, and decentralized future.
The announcement comes just months ahead of Ethereum’s highly anticipated Fusaka upgrade, set for November 2025, which will introduce key performance enhancements to narrow the gap with high-speed platforms like Solana and Cardano.
A Revolutionary Two-Tier Finality Model
In a blog post published August 1, Buterin proposed a decoupling of the fork choice and finality mechanisms that currently operate together in Ethereum’s consensus system. This tight coupling, he argues, creates bottlenecks that restrict throughput and responsiveness.
The new architecture would introduce a two-tier validator system:
- Around 256 validators would run the LMD GHOST fork choice algorithm in real time, providing a “fast lane” for block selection.
- A larger pool of validators would handle the slower finality layer, which makes blocks irreversible.
This redesign could reduce the number of communication rounds per slot from three or four to just two, leading to significantly faster block processing without compromising security.
Crucially, the model supports up to one million validators—a major leap—without relying on complex cryptographic layers or incurring high overhead. Buterin emphasized that the system’s modularity would also ease future upgrades.
Fusaka Upgrade: A Major Step Forward
The proposed finality model builds on Ethereum’s existing momentum, especially with the upcoming Fusaka upgrade, which fuses two internal initiatives—Fulu and Osaka.
At its core, Fusaka will introduce PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling), enabling validators to sample small pieces of data instead of downloading entire datasets. This dramatically improves data availability and reduces bandwidth requirements.
Key highlights of the Fusaka upgrade include:
- Raising the gas limit to 150 million units
- Removing contract code expansion rules to streamline execution
- Optimizing validator performance and preparing the network for future scalability
The upgrade follows the Pectra update, which triggered a 42% price surge in May 2025, and is expected to further strengthen Ethereum’s competitive standing.
Growing Pressure from Faster Competitors
Ethereum’s scaling roadmap is being shaped in large part by the performance of rival blockchains. Solana, for example, claims theoretical throughput of 65,000 TPS, with real-world speeds topping 4,000 TPS and ultra-low fees ranging from ₹0.08–₹1.5. Meanwhile, Cardano is leveraging its Hydra Layer 2 to demonstrate 1 million TPS under optimal conditions.
These capabilities have led to a steady migration of developers and projects toward faster platforms, raising urgency for Ethereum to deliver substantial improvements while preserving its core value of decentralization.
Buterin acknowledged this pressure while cautioning against overly aggressive scaling goals. Speaking at ETHGlobal Prague, he stated:
“There are people that are more brave than I am… and think we should commit today to 1,000x. But I don’t believe in that.”
Instead, he advocates for measured, research-driven scaling, with the proposed 10x plan now open to community input as Ethereum celebrates its tenth anniversary.
Looking Ahead
If implemented, Buterin’s two-tier finality proposal—combined with Fusaka and future upgrades—could place Ethereum on a clear path to high-throughput performance while maintaining its decentralized ethos.
The coming months will be crucial as Ethereum developers and the broader community evaluate, refine, and potentially adopt the new system. If successful, Ethereum could not only catch up with rivals but redefine the standards for performance and trust in public blockchains.
