Vitalik Buterin reveals an updated Ethereum roadmap

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has amended the project plan to incorporate a new phase named “The Scourge.”

The previous 5-phase Ethereum plan, which details how the network will attain scalability, was improved by the update posted on Twitter.

Buterin said that the new roadmap includes a “more explicit role for quantum-proofness as a necessary component of the “endgame” protocol” and “more concrete milestones for each category.”

The Merge, Surge, Scourge, Verge, Purge, and Splurge are the six phases of the upgrade. The move to the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism kicked off the Merge in September. However, the second stage of the Merge will focus on single-slot finality.

The Surge is the following phase, where scaling solutions are expected to begin. The Surge’s purpose is to boost Ethereum network performance.

The network process is currently between 10 and 20 TPS, but when completed, the Surge might increase it to 100,000.

The Scourge, the next component to the roadmap, will “guarantee reliable and fair, credibly neutral transaction inclusion and alleviate MEV concerns,” according to Buterin.

On Ethereum, MEV concerns entail the use of bots to exploit network transactions, resulting in congestion and expensive fees.

The fourth phase, the Verge, has also received an update. It will now concentrate on verification rather than “Merkle trees.” Buterin stated that the phase’s endgame is fully SNARKed Ethereum.

SNARK stands for “Short Non-Interactive Knowledge Argument.” When completed, it will improve network anonymity while still letting transactions pass through and be traceable.