The Ethereum Foundation has released a detailed roadmap outlining how Ethereum’s mainnet could validate blocks using zkEVM proofs, reducing the need for validators to re-execute every transaction. Shared by EF Co-Executive Director Tomasz K. Stańczak, the plan moves Ethereum closer to its long-term “zk-first” vision.
What’s changing
Today, Ethereum validators re-run block computations to verify correctness. Under this proposal, validators would instead verify a cryptographic proof that execution was correct, improving efficiency and opening the door to future scalability gains.
Key building blocks
◼ Execution Witness: A standardized per-block data package that allows execution to be validated without re-running transactions
◼ Block-Level Access Lists (BALs): Better tracking of which parts of state a block touches, critical for efficient proving
◼ zkEVM Guest Program: Stateless logic that checks state transitions using the witness, with reproducible and verifiable builds
◼ Standardized zkVM interfaces: Common assumptions, targets, and I/O rules across proving systems
Consensus & infrastructure upgrades
Consensus clients would be updated to accept zk proofs during beacon block validation, alongside new specs, test vectors, and rollout plans. The roadmap also highlights execution payload availability, potentially via blobs, to support proof-based workflows.
Operational reality
Proof generation is treated as a real-world constraint, not just a protocol feature:
◼ GPU benchmarking and tooling (Ethproofs, Ere, zkboost)
◼ Measuring witness generation, proof time, verification costs, and network impact
◼ Data-driven input for future gas repricing
Security & readiness
Security is framed as ongoing work, including formal specs, reproducible builds, artifact signing, monitoring, and a clear trust model. A formal go / no-go framework will determine when zk validation is mature enough for wider L1 use.
The critical dependency
The plan highlights ePBS as essential. Without it, provers have only 1–2 seconds to generate proofs; with ePBS, that window expands to 6–9 seconds. Deployment is expected in Glamsterdam (mid-2026).
Why it matters
If these milestones land, Ethereum moves closer to proof-based validation on L1, strengthening long-term scalability and security, even as timing and proving complexity remain the main gating factors.
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