Vitalik Buterin Unveils a Vision to Boost Ethereum's Capacity by 1,000 Times

On February 27, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared an extensive technical roadmap detailing how the Ethereum network could potentially expand its transaction capacity by up to 1,000 times, all while ensuring that smaller node operators, crucial for maintaining decentralization, remain economically viable.

Key Takeaways

Vitalik Buterin proposes a plan to potentially increase Ethereum's transaction capacity by up to 1,000 times.
The roadmap identifies three primary areas of focus: execution, data, and state.
The upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade, introducing block-level access lists, will enhance short-term scalability.
Longer-term goals include integrating zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (ZK-EVMs) to improve transaction verification.
The proposed changes aim to keep running costs manageable for smaller node operators while efficiently scaling the network.

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This document, which Buterin informally refers to as the “Strawmap,” categorizes the work into three main areas: execution, data, and state.

Immediate Upgrades on the Horizon

At the forefront of this initiative is an upcoming protocol upgrade named “Glamsterdam.” Reports indicate that a critical feature of this upgrade is the introduction of block-level access lists. This technical modification enables the network to process different sections of a block simultaneously, rather than sequentially.

The Glamsterdam upgrade is also designed to enhance the efficiency of utilizing each 12-second block slot, which will allow for more transactions to be packed into each block without destabilizing the network.

Buterin stated:

"Now, scaling. There are two categories: short-term and long-term. Short-term scaling has been discussed elsewhere, fundamentally involving:

Block-level access lists (coming in Glamsterdam) allow for parallel block verification.

ePBS (also coming in Glamsterdam) introduces multiple features..."
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 27, 2026

He noted that, with improved client software, these advancements may be sufficient to achieve a stable operational state. If the actual utilization remains low, he proposed that the ambitious 1,000x enhancement could be postponed in favor of addressing other priorities.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs: The Future of Ethereum

A more comprehensive aspect of the roadmap focuses on zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines, or ZK-EVMs. This innovation alleviates the need for every validator to re-run every transaction for verification, allowing them instead to validate through cryptographic proofs — a significantly lighter task.

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Buterin’s timeline suggests that a select group of validators could start utilizing this system as soon as 2026, with broader adoption anticipated around 2027. If this unfolds as planned, the network’s capacity ceiling could see a considerable increase without demanding more powerful hardware from node operators.

Additionally, Buterin identified state growth as a distinct and often overlooked challenge. Deploying large smart contracts adds data that every Ethereum node must permanently store, which incrementally elevates the operational costs for running a node.

His proposed solution involves tracking state creation gas independently, ensuring it does not impact the regular transaction gas limit. This would allow for the continued deployment of large contracts, with pricing that accurately reflects the long-term storage costs involved.

Importantly, the ambitious 1,000x figure represents a long-term goal rather than a commitment for immediate implementation. Each phase of this plan hinges on the successful execution of the preceding phase.