Vitalik Buterin Shows Bold New Plan to Fix Ethereum Scaling

Ethereum scaling is at the center of a sweeping new proposal from co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who published a blog post on X on February 27 laying out a phased strategy to increase the network's throughput. The plan covers immediate upgrades, a restructuring of transaction fees, and a longer-term migration toward advanced cryptography and expanded data blobs, signaling a renewed focus on strengthening Ethereum's base layer after years in which rollups dominated the scaling conversation.

Near-Term Throughput Gains Through Parallel Processing

Buterin's proposal starts with changes that would let Ethereum fit more transactions per block without compromising network stability. Upcoming upgrades will enable the computers running Ethereum to verify different portions of a block simultaneously rather than processing everything sequentially, according to Buterin. This shift to parallel block processing could meaningfully increase how many transactions fit into each 12-second slot.

A mechanism known as ePBS, set to arrive with the Glamsterdam upgrade, will also allow the network to make fuller use of its processing windows. Currently, blocks are finalized conservatively, leaving unused capacity. Under ePBS, block construction will be restructured so Ethereum operates closer to its throughput ceiling. The combined effect, Buterin argued, is a capacity increase without raising the risk of errors or instability.

How Will Gas Fee Restructuring Affect Ethereum?

Separating the cost of temporary computation from permanent data storage is the core of Buterin's gas fee proposal. Not all on-chain activity strains the network equally, Buterin explained. Using computing power briefly is fundamentally different from deploying a new smart contract that every node must store forever.

Currently, those costs are largely bundled together. But permanently adding data to Ethereum increases the blockchain's long-term size and makes running a node progressively more expensive. Buterin's plan would raise the cost of permanent storage while freeing up room for everyday transaction processing, preventing a scenario in which only large, well-funded operators can afford to participate.

Long-Term Vision: ZK Proofs and Expanded Blobs

Longer term, Buterin envisions Ethereum leaning heavily on zero-knowledge proofs and expanded data capacity through blobs. Zero-knowledge proofs would let validators confirm transactions without re-running every computation, drastically reducing the workload needed to secure the chain.

Blobs were originally introduced to help layer-2 rollups post data to Ethereum more cheaply. Under Buterin's plan, blobs could eventually carry Ethereum's own transaction data, further reducing validation overhead. The proposal follows the Ethereum Foundation's recent publication of a "strawmap" aimed at long-term network efficiency, signaling that the broader ecosystem is aligning around base-layer improvements after a prolonged focus on rollup-based solutions.

What This Means Going Forward

Buterin's roadmap represents a strategic pivot for the Ethereum ecosystem, which spent several years directing scaling investment toward layer-2 networks. By targeting base-layer capacity through parallel processing, fee restructuring, and eventual reliance on ZK proofs, the plan aims to deliver throughput improvements while safeguarding Ethereum's commitment to decentralization. Whether these proposals survive community review remains to be seen, but the direction is clear: Ethereum's architect wants the base chain to shoulder a greater share of the scaling burden.