The Development Goals and Expansion Strategies of Ethereum

The goal of Ethereum has always been the same: to build a global, censorship-resistant, permissionless blockchain. A free and open platform for decentralized applications, built on the same principles as great free and open-source software projects like GNU + Linux, Mozilla, Tor, and Wikipedia.

In the past decade, Ethereum has not only innovated in technology and economics, but has also become a social technological innovation. It demonstrates a more open and decentralized way of building, forming an ecosystem with almost no gatekeepers and no legacy systems. Here, the most esteemed individuals are those tech experts focused on solving the issues they genuinely care about, rather than those chasing power. It is a world filled with soft power, making everything feel possible.

Technical projects and social projects are essentially intertwined. Decentralized technological systems require decentralized social processes for maintenance, and vice versa. After a decade of effort, Ethereum has demonstrated significant practicality: millions of people use ETH or stablecoins as savings and payment tools, and it also provides effective privacy protection tools, decentralized DNS systems, social media alternatives, and high-yield DeFi tools for users.

Currently, Ethereum's scalability is primarily achieved through layer 2 protocols (L2s). L2s have reached a critical decentralization milestone, securing billions of dollars in value and increasing Ethereum's transaction capacity by 17 times while significantly reducing fees. This has driven the flourishing development of applications such as DeFi platforms, social networks, and prediction markets.

The main challenges facing L2 are scalability and heterogeneity:

1. The existing blob space is nearing saturation and cannot meet future demands.

2. The interoperability and user experience between different L2s still need improvement.

To achieve this, Ethereum needs:

• Accelerate the expansion of L1's blob capacity
• Moderately expand the EVM and increase the gas limit
• Enhance the security of L2
• Improve interoperability standards between L2s
• Accelerate L2 deposit and withdrawal speed
• Maintain the diversity of L2 while ensuring basic interoperability.
• Ensure that ETH can continue to accumulate value in a world dominated by L2.

Specific measures include:

1. Increase the number of blobs per time slot, with a target of reaching 100,000 TPS per second.

2. Enhance the security of L2 by adopting a multi-proof system and formal verification, or integrate EVM verification as part of the protocol.

3. Promote interoperability standards for cross-chain addresses, messaging, bridging, and more.

4. Accelerate L2 deposit and withdrawal speeds to complete within a few minutes.

5. Support L2 to directly read L1 state.

6. Encourage the use of ETH as the primary collateral, supporting the value of ETH through fee burning and other means.

7. Consider blob as a new source of income.

In summary, Ethereum is moving towards a more free and open future, but it still requires joint efforts from all parties. L2 developers should contribute to blob expansion and L2 interoperability, wallet developers need to implement relevant standards, and community members should actively participate in discussions. The future of Ethereum depends on everyone's participation.