Ethereum researcher Justin Drake recently introduced the groundbreaking “Lean Ethereum” proposal, which aims to fortify the network against nation-state and quantum threats while significantly enhancing performance without compromising decentralization. The proposal, outlined in two modes – “fort mode” and “beast mode,” emphasizes the importance of running Ethereum securely for decades, even centuries, under adversarial conditions.
The vision, published on the Ethereum Foundation blog, suggests anchoring the mainnet in hash-based cryptography and restructuring the consensus, data, and execution sublayers to achieve approximately 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) on the mainnet and up to 1 million TPS on layer-2 (L2) blockchains. The proposal also includes the implementation of real-time zero-knowledge virtual machines (zkVMs) for execution and data availability sampling (DAS) for data throughput, aiming to enable full-chain verification on consumer devices.
The “Lean Ethereum” proposal involves coordinated upgrades across three sublayers. The first layer, “Lean consensus,” focuses on hardening the Beacon Chain for maximum security and decentralization with near-instant finality. The second layer, “Lean data,” aims to enhance throughput by implementing post-quantum “blobs” with granular sizing. Lastly, the “Lean execution” layer consists of a minimal, SNARK-friendly instruction set to accelerate proving and verification while maintaining EVM compatibility.
Hash-based cryptography serves as the standard fabric across layers in the Lean Ethereum proposal. By utilizing hash functions as the fundamental primitive, the network can future-proof against quantum adversaries and align with the growing adoption of SNARKs. The approach emphasizes minimal modules, encapsulated complexity, formal verification, and provable security and optimality to streamline the network’s architecture.
Overall, Lean Ethereum represents a sophisticated engineering aesthetic that prioritizes simplicity, continuity, and security. By standardizing on primitives that are easier to reason and verify, the proposal aims to enhance Ethereum’s performance while safeguarding against potential threats in the future.