Faster than ever: The roadmap that promises to triple Ethereum's power by 2026

The Ethereum Foundation's strategic goals for 2026 define the path towards a network with 100M gas capacity, native interoperability, and reinforced post-quantum security.

Following the milestones achieved in previous years with updates such as Pectra and Fusaka, the current roadmap is divided into three specialized fronts: Stairs, Improve UX y Harden the L1. 

The Ethereum Foundation emphasized that this approach allows protocol development to progress in parallel, simultaneously addressing Layer 1 execution efficiency, Layer 2 data availability, and ecosystem protection against emerging threats. In 2026, the top priority is scaling the infrastructure without compromising the decentralization that defines the network.

Integrated scalability: The leap towards 100 million barrels of gas

The unification of Layer 1 scaling and data block (blob) efforts under a single technical team is setting the pace for this period. This integration addresses the need to coordinate execution engine performance with network capacity, allowing Ethereum's gas cap to be projected toward the target of [the target]. 100 million. 

To sustain this growth, the protocol relies on the EIP-7928which introduces block-level access lists. This technical advancement allows nodes to process transactions more efficiently by predicting which parts of the state will be modified, thereby optimizing bandwidth usage and overall computing capacity.

The update Glamsterdam This represents the core of these improvements in the first half of the year. When the enshrined PBS (ePBS) Through the EIP-7732Ethereum will be able to integrate the separation between proposer and constructor directly into its codebase. This measure will eliminate reliance on external intermediaries and professionalize block building, which in turn will allow for an aggressive increase in blob parameters. The goal, with all of this, is to provide a massive and cost-effective data space for Layer 2 scalability solutions to operate at minimal cost, while maintaining the security of the main network as the anchor of trust.

Accompanying this expansion is the development towards "zero statehood" or statelessness It progresses through the use of binary trees and history aging. These mechanisms, according to the Foundation's developers, allow new validators to join the network without needing to download and store centuries of transactional data, reducing hardware barriers. 

The technical goal for the end of 2026 is that any device with standard capabilities will be able to participate in blockchain validation, protecting the network against storage centralization while processing unprecedented transaction volumes.

Interoperability and the era of account abstraction

The developers at the Ethereum Foundation are also focused on the native account abstraction to eliminate technical frictions that previously limited the use of blockchain. Smart contract-based wallets will become the standard, replacing traditional accounts with built-in features such as gas payments in any token, batch transactions, and social account recovery. Proposals such as EIP-8141Known as Frame TransactionsThey are making these operations possible directly in the protocol, without relying on relay services or expensive infrastructure.

This frictionless architecture fosters interoperability between Layer 2 components of the ecosystem. Open Intents FrameworkThis, along with faster confirmation times at Layer 1, allows users to move between execution environments as if it were a single, unified system. With this improvement, liquidity fragmentation will disappear for the end user, as transferring assets or executing contracts between networks will be almost instantaneous, with shared security across the entire Web3 ecosystem.

Furthermore, the 2026 architecture integrates the post-quantum preparation as a design priority. The transition to quantum-resistant signature algorithms is facilitated by account abstraction, offering a secure migration path for user funds. 

According to the developers, by implementing more efficient signature verification methods within the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)The network ensures that digital identity and asset ownership remain unaltered in the face of advancing processing capabilities of large computing powers.

Network resilience and resistance to censorship

Another point included in the priority sheet The Foundation's goal for 2026 is the hardening of Layer 1, Harden the L1, which stands out as a key pillar for Ethereum to preserve its sovereignty and neutrality during its scalability. 

This approach, the organization explains, integrates security measures into the execution layer, such as post-processing transaction checks that act as a defense against software errors or attacks. Execution clients gain robustness, and the use of trustless RPC is encouraged to reduce single points of failure and protect user privacy from leaks or external blocks.

The mechanism FOCI, Forward Inclusion ListsEthereum ensures censorship resistance by requiring block builders to include transactions pre-selected by validators. This prevents any centralized actor from controlling which operations are processed, covering both financial transactions and data blobs from secondary networks. With all this, Ethereum positions itself as a global public good with unrestricted access.

Towards the end of the year, the Hegota update The infrastructure for testing and real-time monitoring will mature, accelerating innovation without compromising stability, and enabling the processing of more data securely, privately, and accessibly as the foundation of the digital economy.