February 28, 2026—Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin released his latest thoughts on the network’s scaling roadmap. What appears to be a routine technical update actually marks a paradigm shift in Ethereum’s ecosystem strategy: after years of rollup-centric scaling, the "first principles" of scaling are returning to Layer 1 (L1) itself. In the near term, the Glamsterdam upgrade will unlock the potential of the current architecture by introducing a multidimensional gas mechanism and ePBS (execution layer–consensus layer proposer separation). In the long run, exponential advances in ZK-EVM and blob data capacity aim to realize the vision of a "gigagas" L1. This shift is more than a technical tweak—it deeply affects the power balance between L1 and L2, redefines ETH value capture, and shapes how Ethereum will defend its core position as the "global settlement layer" amid competition from high-performance chains like Solana. As of press time, Gate market data shows the ETH price at $1,850.55, with a 24-hour trading volume of $446.43M and a 30-day decline of 35.00%. Market sentiment is currently "bearish." Against this macro backdrop, understanding the evolution of these foundational dynamics is crucial for grasping Ethereum’s mid- to long-term value.
Event Overview: Strategic Refocus on L1 Scaling
Vitalik Buterin divides Ethereum’s scaling roadmap into short- and long-term phases. In the short term, the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade aims to boost L1 transaction throughput and verification efficiency without altering the current architecture. Key measures include: introducing block-level access lists for parallel verification; safely extending the block verification window within each 12-second slot via the ePBS mechanism; and major reforms to the gas model—specifically, multidimensional gas that separates "state creation" costs from regular "execution and call data" costs.
The long-term vision is even more ambitious. By deeply integrating zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-EVM) and further unlocking the potential of the blob data layer, Ethereum L1 aims to achieve orders-of-magnitude performance gains without sacrificing decentralization. The Ethereum Foundation’s newly released Strawmap roadmap quantifies this vision: by 2029, through approximately seven hard forks (one every six months), the goal is a "gigagas" L1 (about 10,000 TPS) and a "megagas" L2 (about 10 million TPS). This series of moves signals a clear strategic shift: Ethereum is moving away from "radical modularity" (fully outsourcing execution to L2) and back toward "fortifying L1 as the ultimate anchor of ecosystem security and interoperability."
From Rollup-Centric to L1-First Paradigm
To appreciate this shift, it’s important to revisit Ethereum’s recent evolution in scaling philosophy. The "rollup-centric" roadmap established around 2020–2021 was based on the premise that L1 could not scale directly and should focus on being a data availability and settlement layer, leaving transaction execution to Layer 2. This strategy proved highly successful over the past two years: more than 95% of transaction execution has migrated to L2, and L1 has become the "global settlement layer."
However, this paradigm faces new scrutiny in 2026. On one hand, L2s have been slower than expected to achieve full decentralization. Centralization lingers in sequencers and governance, meaning L2s have not "perfectly inherited" L1 security—they function more like "sovereign states" with different trust assumptions. On the other hand, Ethereum core developers have realized that L1’s scaling potential is far from exhausted. Vitalik’s multidimensional gas model is designed to boost L1 execution capabilities while precisely controlling state bloat—a key bottleneck for decentralization. The release of Strawmap institutionalizes this "L1-first paradigm," marking Ethereum’s shift from passively waiting for L2 expansion to actively strengthening its own "federal" core.
Dual Engines: Multidimensional Gas and Blobs
At the heart of this roadmap update are a refined resource pricing mechanism and ongoing data capacity expansion.
Multidimensional gas is the soul of short-term scaling. Ethereum’s current gas model bundles all operational costs into a single "gas" metric, failing to distinguish the network burden imposed by "computation" versus "state growth." Vitalik’s new proposal, debuting in the Glamsterdam upgrade, separates out "state creation gas." For example, creating a new account or storage slot via an SSTORE operation will incur a small "regular gas" fee and a much larger "state creation gas" fee. The latter does not count toward the current block gas limit (about 16 million), allowing L1 to accommodate more complex computations—and even larger contracts—without significantly increasing node state burden. The "reservoir" mechanism ensures EVM compatibility with this multidimensional design, laying the groundwork for future fully multidimensional, floating pricing.
In the long run, blob evolution will fundamentally change the data relationship between L1 and L2. Currently, blobs are mainly used for L2s to publish transaction data to L1. The future goal is to continuously iterate the PeerDAS protocol so blobs can handle about 8 MB/s of data—and eventually, for L1 block data itself to reside in blobs. This means validators can verify block validity via data availability sampling (DAS) without downloading all block data. Combined with ZK-EVM proofs, this enables "trustless lightweight verification." These advances remove the barriers to exponentially raising the gas limit. In fact, the BPO2 upgrade in January 2026 already raised the per-block blob cap by 40%, with blob fees now accounting for 19% of L1 fee structure—signaling a shift from "execution fees" to "settlement and data availability fees."
Consensus, Concerns, and Unanswered Questions
This new scaling paradigm has sparked multi-layered discussion across the industry.
Mainstream sentiment is generally positive. Developers and long-term researchers see this as a pragmatic path for Ethereum to achieve performance breakthroughs while maintaining decentralization. Incorporating quantum resistance (one of Strawmap’s five major goals) and protocol-level privacy into the long-term plan showcases Ethereum’s technical foresight as a leading public blockchain. For the market, a clear and ambitious roadmap provides long-term capital with a predictable technology trajectory, helping to offset narrative anxiety from short-term price swings.
However, there are also notable controversies and implementation concerns.
- Governance and Decentralization Risks: Some observers worry that, despite being labeled a "strawman," the Strawmap released by the Ethereum Foundation could subtly steer development direction and dampen diverse community voices. Maintaining "credible neutrality" amid growing influence from institutional capital (such as Bitwise, which holds large amounts of ETH) will be an ongoing challenge.
- Technical Feasibility: Achieving 2-second slots, sub-second finality, real-time ZK-EVM proofs, DAS, and post-quantum signatures within four years is an unprecedented technical challenge. Some developers argue the timeline may be overly optimistic, especially since formal verification and other security measures are not yet fully mature.
- Redefining L2’s Role: Will the new roadmap squeeze L2s’ room to grow? Vitalik’s response: L2s will no longer be "branded shards," but networks along different points of the trust spectrum. Some L2s can aim to inherit full L1 security, while others can pursue differentiated innovation at the application layer. Still, the lack of "synchronous composability" remains a fundamental obstacle to L2 interoperability, and enhanced L1 capabilities may prompt some applications to "move back" to L1.
Distinguishing Facts, Opinions, and Speculation
When analyzing this grand narrative, it’s essential to clarify layers of information:
- Facts: Vitalik Buterin has publicly released technical articles on short- and long-term scaling. The Ethereum Foundation has published the Strawmap draft, outlining seven hard forks by 2029 and "gigagas" technical targets. Glamsterdam and Hegotá upgrades are scheduled for 2026. The BPO2 upgrade is complete, raising blob capacity by 40%.
- Opinions: "L2s cannot perfectly inherit L1 security" and "L1 should return to the core of scaling" reflect the current diagnosis and future direction advocated by Vitalik and some core developers. Multidimensional gas is considered the mainstream technical community’s best solution to state bloat.
- Speculation: Whether the Strawmap’s six-month hard fork cadence can be strictly maintained; whether ZK-EVM will mature enough by 2027 to support 20% of the network; whether post-quantum signature schemes can be integrated without significant efficiency loss; and whether blob data capacity can ultimately reach 8 MB/s and support L1’s own data.
Reshaping Power, Value, and Competition
This scaling paradigm shift will have far-reaching effects on the Ethereum ecosystem and the broader public chain landscape.
First, the power balance between L1 and L2 is being recalibrated. Over the past two years, L1’s value capture has centered on blob fees and MEV (maximal extractable value), while L2s have captured most of the execution layer’s value. As L1 execution capabilities strengthen, applications with high security and interoperability requirements—such as major DeFi protocols and core RWA pools—may reconsider deploying some logic on L1. L1 will no longer be a passive "settlement substrate," but a more dynamic "core economic zone." L2s will need to move further up the stack, focusing on ultra-fast trading experiences and specialized use cases (like gaming and social), evolving from "the only execution layer" into "diversified execution zones and innovation sandboxes."
Second, ETH’s value capture logic continues to evolve. As gas fee flows structurally decline due to L2 offloading, ETH’s valuation anchor has shifted from a "cash flow model" to an "asset premium model." The new scaling roadmap reinforces this in two ways: first, "settlement sovereignty premium"—as L1 becomes the indispensable provider of security finality and interoperability, ETH’s value as the "credit backbone" of this sovereign asset grows increasingly prominent; second, "security sharing premium"—a stronger L1 can provide more robust economic security for additional L2s and cross-chain applications, further cementing ETH’s role as the core staking and restaking asset. As of February 2026, ETH’s staking rate has surpassed 30%, and total value locked in restaking protocols has exceeded $32 billion, underscoring this trend.
Finally, competition with Solana is entering a new dimension. Historically, the Ethereum–Solana debate has often been reduced to "modular vs monolithic" architecture. Solana’s high performance has repeatedly allowed it to surpass Ethereum mainnet in DEX trading volume, active addresses, and other metrics. However, Ethereum’s new roadmap shows it is not rigidly committed to modularity; instead, it seeks to incrementally boost L1 performance through multidimensional gas and ZK-EVM, all while retaining a "decentralized trust core." This means the future contest will move beyond raw performance metrics to a showdown between "decentralized trust + composable ecosystem" and "extreme performance + seamless experience." Solana is moving toward modularity and institutionalization with its Firedancer client, while Ethereum is closing the performance gap with ZK technology. Both are undergoing "asymmetric convergence," ultimately vying for the institutional mainstream’s final preference.
Multi-Scenario Evolution Projections
Based on the above analysis, we can outline several possible futures for Ethereum’s scaling roadmap.
| Scenario Type | Possible Path | Logical Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Fact | The Glamsterdam upgrade will be implemented in 2026, introducing multidimensional gas and ePBS. Strawmap has been released, outlining a four-year, seven-fork vision. | Information from developer meetings, EF official drafts, and confirmation from Vitalik’s blog posts. |
| Opinion | Enhanced L1 capabilities will reshape the L1–L2 relationship, and ETH’s core valuation will shift from gas revenue to settlement sovereignty premium. | Reflection on current L2 centralization and long-term observation of ETH’s role as a reserve asset. |
| Speculation (Optimistic) | Technical iterations proceed smoothly as planned in Strawmap. Multidimensional gas effectively curbs state bloat, ZK-EVM matures in 2027–2028, and L1 throughput reaches several thousand TPS before 2029. Ethereum’s ecosystem becomes even more attractive, institutional capital accelerates inflows, and its dominance as the global digital asset settlement layer is cemented. | Strong community consensus, abundant development resources, and Ethereum’s proven ability to deliver complex upgrades. |
| Speculation (Neutral) | Some technical goals are delayed. The complexity of real-time ZK-EVM proofs or post-quantum migration exceeds expectations, causing some fork features to be split or postponed. L2 remains the main execution layer, and L1 scaling mainly serves "core financial zones" and interoperability needs. Market response is muted, and ETH price performance tracks ecosystem growth. | Inherent risks in tech development; historical upgrades (like The Merge) have also seen delays. Institutional adoption is a long-term process. |
| Speculation (Risk) | Governance disputes or security flaws derail the roadmap. For example, major community disagreements over multidimensional gas parameters or post-quantum algorithm selection; or critical security vulnerabilities in early ZK-EVM versions undermine developer confidence. Market attention may temporarily shift to faster-moving competitors. | The intrinsic complexity of decentralized governance and potential risks in advanced cryptographic engineering. |
Conclusion
The new scaling blueprint outlined by Vitalik Buterin signals Ethereum’s return to, and reaffirmation of, its core value after years of exploration. No longer content to serve merely as an L2-consumed "security kernel," Ethereum now strives to become a more powerful and dynamic "settlement sovereign." From Glamsterdam’s multidimensional gas to Strawmap’s gigagas vision, Ethereum is moving forward—deliberately yet resolutely—to redraw the boundaries of power between L1 and L2, and to redefine its competitive edge against Solana and others: a programmable, composable, and ultimately deterministic system secured by the highest degree of decentralization. The journey is fraught with technical and governance challenges, but its successful realization could see Ethereum complete its transformation from "world computer" to "global financial settlement layer."
