Ethereum Prioritizes Security Over Speed with New 2026 Roadmap

The Ethereum Foundation is embracing a new technical roadmap that emphasizes security over speed for zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (zkEVMs). This roadmap outlines three key milestones set to unfold by the end of 2026.

Key Takeaways

The Ethereum Foundation has established a new focus on security for zkEVMs, with a roadmap leading to 2026.
Security benchmarks include 128-bit security standards and targets for proof sizes.
The foundation has reiterated its commitment to simplifying the Ethereum protocol for broader understanding and accessibility.
There is a growing institutional adoption of Ethereum technologies, highlighted by major financial firms entering the space.
A focus on privacy-preserving technologies is deemed essential for compliance and trust within the ecosystem.

Ethereum Shifts Focus From Speed to Security With New 2026 Deadline

This strategic shift follows significant reductions in proving times—brought down from 16 minutes to just 16 seconds—and a remarkable 45-fold decrease in costs. Currently, 99% of Ethereum blocks can now be proven in under 10 seconds on appropriate hardware.

However, the foundation has raised alarms about security, referring to it as “the elephant in the room.” Many STARK-based zkEVMs are dependent on mathematical conjectures that recent studies have begun to question.

“If an attacker can generate a proof, they can create anything: mint tokens out of thin air, alter states, or steal funds,” the foundation cautioned in a December 18 announcement.

New Security Standards for zkEVMs

The foundation is aiming for a mandatory 128-bit provable security standard for mainnet-grade zkEVMs, consistent with guidance from cryptographic authorities.

The initial milestone calls for zkEVM teams to integrate their proof system components with soundcalc, a newly developed security estimation tool, by the end of February 2026.

By May 2026, teams are expected to achieve a minimum of 100-bit provable security with proof sizes capped at 600 kilobytes while also providing concise descriptions of their recursion architecture.

The final milestone will be the attainment of 128-bit provable security by the end of 2026, with proof sizes restricted to 300 kilobytes and formal arguments for recursion soundness.

George Kadianakis from the Ethereum Foundation's cryptography team highlighted the importance of securing zkEVM architectures before they become moving targets, stating, “Once teams have hit these targets and zkVM architectures stabilize, our work on formal verification can truly flourish.”

Recent advancements in cryptography, including compact polynomial commitment schemes and well-structured recursion topologies, create optimistic prospects for achieving these security goals. The foundation plans to release detailed technical insights in January that will outline techniques for meeting the required security and proof size standards.

Boosting Institutional Adoption

Alongside tightening its technical standards, Ethereum has ramped up its outreach to institutions with the launch of the “Ethereum for Institutions” portal in October. This platform is designed to assist enterprises and financial entities building on Ethereum's infrastructure, emphasizing the network's reliability over the past decade with over 1.1 million validators and uninterrupted operation.

The foundation pointed to privacy-enhancing technologies like zero-knowledge proofs, fully homomorphic encryption, and trusted execution environments as vital for compliant institutional applications. “Privacy solutions are no longer theoretical — they’re live and scaling in production,” the foundation noted, referencing projects such as Chainlink, RAILGUN, and the Aztec Network.

Ethereum currently supports a significant share of tokenized real-world assets, with organizations like BlackRock, Securitize, and Ondo Finance deploying tokenized instruments within the ecosystem.

Ethereum Security 2026 - RWA.xyz RWA League Table

Recently, JPMorgan Chase launched its initial tokenized money-market fund on Ethereum, investing $100 million into the MONY fund and offering it to qualified investors with a minimum investment of $1 million via its Kinexys Digital Assets platform. John Donohue, head of asset management at JPMorgan, noted in the Wall Street Journal that there is “a tremendous amount of client interest around tokenization,” and expressed a desire for JPMorgan to lead in this innovative area, offering products that are comparable to traditional money-market funds but on the blockchain.

Addressing Complexity in the Protocol

On December 18, Co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed concerns regarding protocol complexity, labeling it a fundamental threat to Ethereum's trustlessness. “A crucial but often overlooked aspect of trustlessness is ensuring that more people can fully comprehend the entire protocol,” Buterin wrote, advocating for a possible reduction in features to simplify understanding.

This concern stems from the growing clash between sophisticated functionality and user accessibility as Ethereum's technical components expand. “If only a handful of individuals understand your privacy protocol, you haven't achieved trustlessness; you've merely shifted who people trust,” stated INTMAX, a privacy-focused layer-2 network.

The foundation recognized these challenges in its roadmap, describing Ethereum as “too complex” for many users and outlining plans for smart contract wallets aimed at streamlining gas fees and key management.

In August, the foundation temporarily halted open grant applications for its Ecosystem Support Program, planning to transition towards a more focused funding approach after having allocated nearly $3 million to 105 projects in 2024.