The Ethereum ecosystem is entering a new phase of long-term planning after researcher Justin Drake introduced a draft technical roadmap known as the “Strawmap.”
Key Takeaways
The “Strawmap” outlines seven potential Ethereum upgrades through 2029 as a coordination draft, not a binding plan.
Ethereum aims to cut block times from 12 seconds to 2 seconds and reduce finality to just seconds.
Mainnet throughput targets 10,000 TPS, while Layer 2 scaling could reach millions of transactions per second.
The 2026 forks “Glamsterdam” and “Hegotá” focus on speed improvements and post-quantum security.
Upgrades are planned on a six-month cycle, with the roadmap updated regularly based on research and community input.
Presented in early 2026, the document is not a binding strategy but a coordination framework outlining how Ethereum’s base layer could evolve across seven protocol upgrades through 2029.
Rather than dictating a fixed direction, the Strawmap is designed as a shared reference point for developers and researchers. In a decentralized network where no single authority controls development, the roadmap serves as a visual alignment tool, helping contributors understand technical dependencies and prioritize research efforts.
Fast L1 And Gigagas Ambitions
At the core of the proposal are five long-term objectives described as Ethereum’s “North Star.”
The first goal, Fast L1, targets a dramatic reduction in block times. Current 12-second slots could gradually fall to 2 seconds, while transaction finality may shrink from roughly 16 minutes to as little as 6–16 seconds. Vitalik Buterin has suggested a phased reduction pattern of 12s → 8s → 6s → 4s → 2s to ensure stability during the transition.
The second pillar, Gigagas L1, aims for throughput of 1 gigagas per second – equivalent to roughly 10,000 transactions per second on mainnet. This would rely on zkEVM integration and real-time proof generation to increase computational capacity without compromising decentralization.
Scaling Toward Teragas L2
Beyond the base layer, the roadmap envisions Teragas L2 – a data bandwidth target of 1 gigabyte per second for Layer 2 networks. Through data availability sampling, Ethereum could theoretically support up to 10 million transactions per second across rollups and scaling solutions.
This approach reinforces Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap while pushing the base layer to provide stronger data infrastructure rather than handling all transactions directly.
Security, Privacy And Quantum Readiness
Security upgrades form another central component of the Strawmap. The planned 2026 “Hegotá” fork is expected to begin Ethereum’s transition toward post-quantum cryptography, replacing current signature schemes with hash-based and lattice-based alternatives designed to resist future quantum computing threats.
At the same time, the roadmap outlines the development of Private L1 functionality, introducing native shielded ETH transfers. The objective is to embed privacy directly at the protocol level, making confidential transactions a standard feature rather than an optional overlay.
Meanwhile, the “Glamsterdam” fork – also slated for 2026 – focuses on performance improvements, including parallel processing and higher gas limits, alongside an intermediate reduction in slot times to eight seconds.
A Structured Upgrade Cadence
One of the most notable operational proposals is a fixed six-month upgrade cycle. The Strawmap envisions one network fork every half year to maintain development momentum while preventing overwhelming technical complexity.
Importantly, the document is described as a living framework. The Ethereum Foundation’s architecture team intends to update it quarterly based on community feedback and research progress, reflecting the network’s collaborative governance model.
By mapping potential upgrades through 2029, the Strawmap signals Ethereum’s ambition to combine speed, scalability, privacy, and quantum resilience into a unified technical vision – while still acknowledging that, in a decentralized ecosystem, the final direction ultimately depends on broad community consensus.
