Ethereum Tracks: 3 Tracks Driving 2026 Scaling

Ethereum is undergoing a major structural shift! The Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol team is reorganizing into three core tracks: Scale, Improve UX, and Harden the L1. This restructuring, announced as we head into 2026, basically aims to simplify development and tackle key challenges in scaling, usability, and network security. So, what does this mean for the future of Ethereum? It means big things are coming! Honestly, I’m excited to see how this pans out. Let’s break it down. What’s the deal?

The Ethereum world in 2026 is vastly different from what it was even a few years prior. The demands placed on the network have grown exponentially, driven by the explosion of DeFi, NFTs, and other decentralized applications. This growth has highlighted the urgent need for solutions that can address the limitations of the original Ethereum design. The reorganization into these three tracks is a direct response to these challenges, a proactive step towards ensuring Ethereum’s continued relevance and dominance in the blockchain space.

Think of it like this: Ethereum is a growing city. Initially, the infrastructure was sufficient for a small population. But as the city grows, you need to invest in better roads (scaling), more user-friendly services (UX), and stronger security measures (hardening). These three tracks represent Ethereum’s strategic investment in its future infrastructure.

Here’s a breakdown of the three tracks Ethereum will use to drive scaling and security goals in 2026:

1. How Will Ethereum’s Scale Track Push Gas Limits?

   The Scale track is all about… well, scaling! It merges the previous Scale L1 and Scale Blobs efforts. The goal? To push gas limits beyond 100M. Led by Ansgar Dietrichs, Marius van der Wijden, and Raúl Kripalani, this track is also tackling ePBS, zkEVM attester client development, and statelessness research. I think this unified approach makes total sense. Blob scaling and execution scaling should be connected. According to a 2025 report by the Ethereum Foundation Ethereum Foundation, gas usage increased by 40%. That’s a big jump!

   Let’s explore deeper into the significance of pushing gas limits beyond 100M. Currently, the gas limit constrains the complexity and size of transactions that can be processed on the Ethereum network. Increasing the gas limit allows for more complex smart contracts and larger data sets to be processed within a single block. This directly translates to higher transaction throughput and reduced congestion, making the network more efficient and responsive.

   The merger of Scale L1 and Scale Blobs efforts is particularly important. Blobs, introduced in a previous upgrade, provide a dedicated space for storing large amounts of data, offloading it from the main Ethereum chain. This significantly reduces the burden on the network and lowers transaction costs. By unifying these efforts, the Scale track aims to optimize the interaction between execution and data storage, creating a more streamlined and efficient scaling solution.

   ePBS (enhanced Proposer-Builder Separation) is another key component of the Scale track. ePBS aims to improve the efficiency and fairness of block production by separating the roles of proposers (who choose which transactions to include in a block) and builders (who construct the block). This separation helps to prevent MEV (Miner Extractable Value) exploitation and ensures that transactions are included in a more transparent and equitable manner.

   zkEVM attester client development is focused on building on zero-knowledge proofs to enhance the scalability and privacy of Ethereum. zkEVMs allow for the execution of Ethereum smart contracts off-chain, with zero-knowledge proofs used to verify the correctness of the execution. This significantly reduces the computational burden on the main chain and allows for much faster and cheaper transactions.

   Statelessness research is exploring ways to reduce the amount of data that Ethereum nodes need to store. Currently, Ethereum nodes need to store the entire history of the blockchain, which requires significant storage capacity. Statelessness aims to reduce this requirement by allowing nodes to verify the validity of transactions without needing to store the entire history. This would make it easier for individuals and organizations to run Ethereum nodes, further decentralizing the network.

   Consider a practical example: a decentralized exchange (DEX) running on Ethereum. With higher gas limits and improved scaling solutions, the DEX could handle a much larger volume of trades and support more complex trading strategies. This would attract more users to the DEX and make it a more competitive alternative to centralized exchanges. Also, zkEVMs could be used to provide privacy for traders, protecting their trading strategies from being exploited by others.

   

2. Why is the Improve UX Track Important for Ethereum?

   User experience is king! The Improve UX track, led by Barnabé Monnot and Matt Garnett, is laser-focused on account abstraction and interoperability. Think EIP-7701 and EIP-8141 pushing smart account logic directly into the protocol. I’m really interested in this. Work here also connects to post-quantum readiness, since native account abstraction offers a natural path away from ECDSA. Cross-L2 interactions and faster confirmations are also central priorities. This is super important. A smoother user experience is key for mainstream adoption. A survey by ConsenSys found that 60% of users cited complicated UX as a barrier to entry. ConsenSys

   Account abstraction is a big deal for user experience. Currently, Ethereum accounts are either externally owned accounts (EOAs), controlled by private keys, or smart contract accounts. EOAs are simple but lack advanced features, while smart contract accounts offer more flexibility but require users to deploy and manage smart contracts. Account abstraction aims to combine the best of both worlds by allowing users to create accounts that have the functionality of smart contracts but are as easy to use as EOAs.

   EIP-7701 and EIP-8141 are key proposals that aim to implement account abstraction at the protocol level. These proposals would allow users to define custom logic for their accounts, such as multi-signature authentication, social recovery mechanisms, and automated payments. This would significantly improve the security and usability of Ethereum accounts, making them more accessible to a wider audience.

   The connection to post-quantum readiness is also significant. ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) is the current signature scheme used by Ethereum, but it is vulnerable to attacks from quantum computers. Native account abstraction offers a natural path away from ECDSA by allowing users to define custom signature schemes for their accounts. This would allow Ethereum to effortlessly transition to a post-quantum world without requiring a hard fork.

   Cross-L2 interactions are also a critical aspect of the Improve UX track. As Layer 2 scaling solutions become more prevalent, it is key to ensure that users can easily move assets and interact with applications across different L2s. The Improve UX track is focused on developing standards and protocols that facilitate effortless cross-L2 interactions, making it easier for users to take advantage of the benefits of different L2 solutions.

   Faster confirmations are another important goal of the Improve UX track. Currently, Ethereum transactions can take several minutes to confirm, which can be frustrating for users. The Improve UX track is exploring various techniques to reduce confirmation times, such as optimistic rollups and validity proofs. These techniques allow for transactions to be confirmed much faster than on the main chain, improving the overall user experience.

   Imagine a new user trying to interact with a DeFi application. With account abstraction, they could create an account with a simple username and password, without needing to understand the complexities of private keys and seed phrases. They could also set up automated payments to pay their bills automatically, or use social recovery to recover their account if they lose their password. Cross-L2 interactions would allow them to easily move their assets between different DeFi applications running on different L2s, and faster confirmations would ensure that their transactions are processed quickly and efficiently.

3. How Does the Harden the L1 Track Enhance Security?

   Security is paramount, right? The Harden the L1 track is brand new and led by Fredrik Svantes, Parithosh Jayanthi, and Thomas Thiery. Fredrik heads the Trillion Dollar Security Initiative, covering post-quantum hardening and trustless RPCs. Thomas is diving into censorship resistance research, including FOCIL (EIP-7805) and measurable resistance metrics. Parithosh is overseeing devnets, testnets, and client interoperability testing infrastructure. I might be wrong here, but this seems like a very smart move to me. You can’t have mass adoption without bulletproof security. As a matter of fact, research from Chainalysis shows that over $3 billion was lost to crypto hacks in 2025. Chainalysis

   The Harden the L1 track is a proactive measure to address the evolving security threats facing Ethereum. As the value stored on the Ethereum network continues to grow, it becomes an increasingly attractive target for hackers and malicious actors. The Harden the L1 track is focused on strengthening the security of the core Ethereum protocol and ensuring that it is resilient to a wide range of attacks.

   The Trillion Dollar Security Initiative, led by Fredrik Svantes, is a thorough effort to identify and mitigate potential security risks to the Ethereum network. This initiative covers a wide range of topics, including post-quantum hardening, trustless RPCs, and formal verification of smart contracts.

   Post-quantum hardening is focused on protecting Ethereum from attacks from quantum computers. As quantum computers become more powerful, they will be able to break many of the cryptographic algorithms that are currently used to secure Ethereum. Post-quantum hardening involves replacing these algorithms with quantum-resistant alternatives, ensuring that Ethereum remains secure even in the face of quantum computing threats.

   Trustless RPCs are focused on improving the security and privacy of communication between Ethereum nodes and clients. Currently, many Ethereum clients rely on centralized RPC providers to access the Ethereum network. This creates a single point of failure and exposes users to potential censorship and surveillance. Trustless RPCs aim to eliminate this reliance on centralized providers by allowing clients to connect directly to the Ethereum network in a trustless manner.

   Censorship resistance research, led by Thomas Thiery, is focused on ensuring that Ethereum remains a permissionless and censorship-resistant platform. Censorship resistance is a core principle of Ethereum, and it is must-have for ensuring that the network remains open and accessible to everyone. The Harden the L1 track is exploring various techniques to improve censorship resistance, such as FOCIL (Fair Ordering of Censorship-resistant Instructions Layer) and measurable resistance metrics.

   Parithosh Jayanthi is overseeing devnets, testnets, and client interoperability testing infrastructure. These are critical components for ensuring the stability and security of the Ethereum network. Devnets and testnets allow developers to test their code in a realistic environment before deploying it to the main chain. Client interoperability testing ensures that different Ethereum clients can communicate with each other correctly, preventing potential forks and other disruptions.

   Consider a scenario where a hacker attempts to exploit a vulnerability in the Ethereum protocol. The Harden the L1 track would be responsible for identifying and patching the vulnerability before it could be exploited. Plus, the post-quantum hardening efforts would ensure that Ethereum remains secure even if a quantum computer is used to attack the network. The censorship resistance research would ensure that transactions cannot be censored by malicious actors, and the client interoperability testing would prevent potential forks and other disruptions.

   

Last year, Ethereum Protocol shipped two major upgrades: Pectra in May and Fusaka in December. Pectra introduced EIP-7702, enabling externally owned accounts to temporarily execute smart contract code. Fusaka brought PeerDAS to mainnet, changing how validators handle blob data and cutting bandwidth requirements. These milestones made 2025 one of the most active years at the Ethereum protocol level. I think they’re building on that momentum now. What do you think? Worth it.

Pectra’s introduction of EIP-7702 was a subtle but powerful change. It allowed EOAs to, in essence, “borrow” the functionality of smart contracts for a single transaction. This opens doors for more complex interactions without permanently changing the nature of the EOA. Imagine using your regular Ethereum wallet to interact with a complex DeFi protocol that requires specific smart contract logic – EIP-7702 makes that effortless.

Fusaka, with the implementation of PeerDAS, tackled a critical bottleneck in data availability. By changing how validators handle blob data, it significantly reduced the bandwidth requirements for participating in the network. This makes it easier for individuals and smaller entities to run validator nodes, contributing to greater decentralization and resilience of the Ethereum network. The reduced bandwidth also translates to lower operating costs for validators.

Beyond the two forks, the mainnet gas limit rose from 30M to 60M during 2025. History expiry also removed pre-Merge data from full nodes, saving hundreds of gigabytes of disk space. On the UX side, the Open Intents Framework reached production and cross-chain address standards moved forward. Pretty cool, right?

The doubling of the gas limit from 30M to 60M was a significant performance boost for the network. It allowed for more complex smart contracts and larger transactions to be processed, alleviating congestion and improving the overall user experience. This increase was a direct result of the ongoing efforts to improve Ethereum’s scalability.

History expiry was another important optimization. By removing pre-Merge data from full nodes, it significantly reduced the storage requirements for running a full node. This made it easier for individuals and organizations to participate in the network, contributing to greater decentralization and resilience. The saved disk space also translates to lower operating costs for node operators.

The Open Intents Framework reaching production marked a significant step forward in improving the user experience. This framework allows users to express their desired outcomes (intents) rather than specifying the exact steps required to achieve them. This simplifies the interaction with complex DeFi protocols and makes it easier for users to achieve their goals.

Glamsterdam is the next planned network upgrade, targeting the first half of 2026. Hegotá is expected to follow later in the year. According to a CoinDesk article CoinDesk, these upgrades will further enhance Ethereum’s capabilities. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Seriously.

Glamsterdam is expected to bring further improvements to Ethereum’s scalability, security, and user experience. While the specific features of Glamsterdam are still being finalized, it is likely to include improvements to the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), further optimizations to data availability, and new features to support account abstraction.

Hegotá is expected to build upon the improvements introduced in Glamsterdam and continue to push the boundaries of what is possible on the Ethereum network. It is likely to include further advancements in post-quantum security, censorship resistance, and cross-L2 interoperability.

Key Takeaways:

• Ethereum’s restructuring into three tracks (Scale, Improve UX, Harden the L1) signals a mature approach to development.
• The Scale track aims to significantly increase Ethereum’s gas limits.
• The Improve UX track prioritizes account abstraction and cross-L2 interoperability.
• The Harden the L1 track focuses on post-quantum security and censorship resistance.

In my experience, these kinds of structural changes are often a sign of progress. I’ve seen similar reorganizations in other projects lead to increased efficiency and focus. I’m optimistic about what this means for Ethereum’s future. Here’s hoping for a smooth 2026. The Ethereum protocol restructure is designed to address the evolving needs of the blockchain, ensuring scalability, improved user experience and powerful security for the long term. It’s a smart move.

The creation of these focused tracks is a recognition that Ethereum’s challenges are many-sided and require specialized expertise. By dividing the development efforts into these three areas, the Ethereum Foundation is creating a more efficient and effective development process. This will allow the Ethereum team to address the most pressing challenges facing the network and ensure that Ethereum remains a leading blockchain platform for years to come. The future looks bright for Ethereum, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.