Developer Justin Drake has unveiled details of Beam Chain’s “most ambitious” proposal to overhaul Ethereum’s consensus layer “from scratch,” a project that has taken him “months.”
The initiative incorporates the latest ideas from the research roadmap.
According to Drake, Beam Chain aims for faster second block times, smaller validator shares, “chain snarkifaction,” and ultimately — post-quantum security for the network.
The expert described the potential transition as part of Ethereum’s evolution — from PoW to PoS and towards a potential ZK-consensus for Ethereum.
This would involve SNARK technology — a type of cryptographic proof that allows one party to prove to another that they know certain information or that computations are correct, without revealing the underlying data.
In terms of block formation, this could mean faster slot creation times — four seconds compared to the current 12, with finalization within three slots.
Drake believes it might be possible to dispense with epochs, relying solely on slots.
The proposed upgrade also suggests introducing a staking limit and requiring 1 ETH to activate a validator node instead of 32 ETH, which would be part of a “fantastic opportunity to attract fresh blood.”
According to the developer, the initiative would correct some mistakes made in the current design of Ethereum’s Beacon Chain consensus layer. He emphasized that implementation would require community approval.
Outlining a rough timeline for possible implementation, Drake said that the specification development process could begin next year, with implementation — in 2026.
In this scenario, starting in 2027, the team would embark on a rigorous testing phase lasting at least two years. It is necessary to ensure that the upgrade meets production standards and is safe for deployment on the Ethereum network.
Doug Colkitt, founder of Ambient Finance, speculated that a native zkEVM could entirely eliminate the gas limit.
Rumor is Eth 3.0 announcement this week will be a second merge into a new consensus targeting 1 second block times, SSF and native zkEVM.
Native zkEVM in particular is huge. The gas limit can be eliminated entirely. Builders can build arbitrarily large blocks, since nodes only…
— Doug Colkitt (@0xdoug) November 11, 2024
“Developers can create arbitrarily large blocks, as nodes will only need to verify SNARK. The only scaling limitation will be bandwidth,” explained the specialist.
The upgrade could significantly increase TPS on the Ethereum mainnet, “completely eliminating the need for rollups.” A side effect would be further centralization of block creation, Colkitt noted.
If activated, Drake’s proposal would be the largest protocol upgrade since the transition to PoS. The developer urged not to call the upgrade “Ethereum 3.0.” He cited the same reasoning used during the implementation of Ethereum 2.0, which was renamed The Merge.
On May 19, Drake revealed his involvement as an advisor to the independent non-profit Eigen Foundation. The information elicited mixed reactions from the community.
On November 2, the specialist ended his collaboration with the project.
TLDR: I dropped the EigenLayer advisorship, left the ultra sound team, and made other changes to double down on neutrality and focus on L1 research and coordination.
In September I let go of the EigenFoundation advisorship. I want to apologise to the Ethereum community and EF…
— Justin Ðrake ?? (@drakefjustin) November 2, 2024
Drake estimates that the Ethereum Foundation has funds for approximately 10 years of operation.
Previously, the organization reported treasury reserves of $970 million.