Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined a shift in the network's development priorities this week, comparing the Ethereum Foundation's updated Strawmap—a reference guide last revised Aug. 4—with the network's 2023 roadmap.
The comparison revealed focus areas absent from the earlier plan: enhanced privacy features, defenses against quantum computing threats and protocol simplification.
Privacy stands as a notable addition. Developers are exploring mechanisms including Privacy Pools and "wormholes" to protect user balances and transaction histories on-chain.
The network also emphasizes censorship resistance through Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists, known as FOCIL—a core component of the planned Hegota upgrade.
Quantum resistance has risen in priority. Developers are weighing protocol changes to secure accounts and transactions against potential quantum attacks.
Buterin paired quantum resistance with the Lean Ethereum initiative, a collection of proposed upgrades that would replace or substantially revise nearly every major component of the protocol.
He described Lean Ethereum as the network's third major iteration, with a scope of transformation comparable to The Merge.
One long-term proposal involves replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine, the execution environment for Ethereum applications.
The Ethereum Foundation's Strawmap functions as a living reference guide outlining potential upgrades through 2029, not a fixed upgrade schedule.
