2026 marks a crucial year for Ethereum. The initial Ethereum validators will begin processing small zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs instead of re-running transactions. This advancement provides immediate scaling benefits for layer 1, aiming for 10,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Researcher Justin Drake showed that validating proofs on a dated laptop is feasible, as demonstrated during EthProofs Day at Devconnect in November. It’s anticipated that one in 10 validators will transition to ZK before year-end.
This represents a total transformation of how the blockchain operates, comparable in significance to the Merge in 2022 when Ethereum moved from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.
Currently, each validator re-executes every transaction, and while the implementation of perfect parallel processing in Glamsterdam will optimize this process, it’s only a portion of the journey.
The strategy entails generating a ZK-proof for every block—an impressive mathematical method that confirms the proper execution of the block—allowing validators to simply verify the proof’s authenticity.
This elegantly addresses the blockchain trilemma since validating a ZK-proof is so simple that it could theoretically be done on a smartphone or even a smartwatch. This ensures that the network can maintain high decentralization without loads placed on lower-spec devices. Ethereum currently manages about 30 TPS (even though it operates at a lower rate), yet requirements for home validators are already at the level of gaming laptops.
“This is a way to enhance the network’s scaling and traffic capabilities with fewer resources needing to exert more effort,” explained Gary Schulte, senior staff blockchain protocol engineer on the Besu client. He outlined that the gas limit cannot be significantly raised without escalating hardware specs for validators. But under the new framework, most challenging tasks, which require powerful machines, will be handled by block builders and ZK provers.
“If a small number of systems create and validate these blocks, while the rest of our validator network engages in lightweight tasks… it enables scaling,” said Schulte.
Drake predicts that about 10% of the network will transition to validating ZK-proofs this year as part of “phase 1” of Lean Execution. Since those validators most likely to switch are often lower-spec home validators, this will allow for an increase in the gas limit, as the remaining validators still re-executing transactions will be using more capable equipment.
”The advanced operators with extensive infrastructure will proceed, which means gas limits can be raised since there’s no concern about solo stakers,” Drake shared with Bankless.
However, the transition won’t commence until mid-year when Ethereum ceases penalizing validators for delayed executions. This currently deters the validation of ZK-proofs as they require more time to generate and spread through the network.
Schulte mentioned that only validators “ready to accept the penalties” will validate ZK-proofs initially, although the ePBS upgrade in the Glamsterdam rollout will rectify this issue.
“Essentially, instead of needing immediate attestation upon block arrival, more time is provided. You essentially have an entire slot to attest,” Drake noted.
“I expect the number of validators opting in to rise from roughly 1% to around 10% at that point.”
How Ethereum’s ZK rollout is expected to operate
In July, Sophia Gold published a blog for the Ethereum Foundation outlining a bold aim to deliver a zkEVM within the year.
Numerous teams have already showcased their capabilities to generate proofs in real-time, effectively meaning around two seconds faster than Ethereum’s 12-second block times, considering the need to disseminate proofs throughout the network.
Because all current systems have some flaws and occasionally malfunction, a proposed solution involves utilizing five different proving systems to present ZK-proofs. As long as a validator receives three congruent proofs, the block is deemed legitimate.
The goal is to ultimately achieve a singular proof (enshrined proofs), but this necessitates the generation system being formally verified to ensure zero bugs. A team is engaged in this work, but completion is not anticipated until 2030.
Proving doesn’t require the same level of decentralization as validating (a proof is either valid or invalid), yet the target specifications remain aligned with what a home enthusiast could plausibly afford to operate in their garage: under $100,000 and requiring similar power to a Tesla Powerwall.
Considering the remarkable pace of advancement in this domain, these specifications may exceed what is genuinely necessary: In May, SP1 Hypercube employed 160 GPUs to prove blocks in under 12 seconds. The ZisK team can now prove blocks in 7.4 seconds using only 24 GPUs, while the ZKsync Airbender team can validate Ethereum blocks in under 50 seconds with a single GPU, albeit with reduced security than what is required.
Ethereum’s transition to ZK: Phases 0, 1, and 2
Currently, we are in Phase Zero of the transition, where only enthusiasts like Drake are willing to endure the consequences to validate proofs. Phase One is anticipated by 2026, with up to 10% of validators making the shift. Drake is hopeful that Phase Two will occur in 2027.
“Phase Two is where much of the enchantment unfolds, which involves mandatory proofs requiring the block producer to create proofs, with expectations that everyone will operate on ZK EVMs,” he elaborated.
Throughout the year, expect to encounter heightened discussions regarding whether the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) should transition to RISC-V (reduced instruction set five) in order to simplify ZK-proof generation.
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“The momentum appears in favor of RISC-V architecture as it features a compact, efficient instruction set architecture that offers appealing traits regarding licensing and royalties as it stands as an open standard,” Schulte explained.
However, at Devconnect, Schulte remarked on a developing divide “among core developers about the feasibility and risks associated with a ZKVM scaling strategy.
“Concerns expressed highlight that the teams and software bases that are the most battle-tested face considerable challenges in targeting a zkEVM environment. Only relatively new entrants can compile natively to RISC-V, and most ZKVM teams operate on their own modified versions of RETH,” he noted.
“No one disputes the overall trajectory toward proving as a scaling strategy, but rather the restrictions that real-time proving imposes on execution client software deemed the most resilient.”
Alex Gluchowski, co-founder and CEO of Matter Labs, informed Cointelegraph that the adoption of ZK-proofs will also enhance interoperability in the near term among chains employing proving standards, and in the long run, “they render interoperability more inherent.”
ETH in 2026: Ethereum Interoperability Layer
Another significant enhancement for the Ethereum ecosystem in 2026 is the Ethereum Interoperability Layer (EIL), which serves as a trustless messaging system that facilitates seamless communication and transactions among different layer 2s, as explained by Taiko COO Joaquin Mendes.
“Ethereum now boasts over 55 L2 rollups that have effectively scaled the network but resulted in siloed ecosystems with fragmented liquidity. The EIL consolidates these into a cohesive experience akin to a single chain,” he shared with Cointelegraph.
Once operational, users will be able to transfer 100 USDC (USDC) from their Arbitrum wallet directly to another user’s wallet on Base, and they will receive it in seconds. Users could even aggregate some Ether (ETH) from a Scroll address and additional ETH from an Arbitrum address to purchase a non-fungible token on Linea.
The EIL, built on ERC-4337 account abstraction, aims to improve upon the solver networks that ground solutions like Near Intents, wherein users express their intended actions, and a network of solvers determines how to fulfill them for a fee.
Mendes asserts that current solver networks lack decentralization and carry excessive trust dependencies. “When a few dominant solvers monopolize the market, competition diminishes, leading to exploitative behaviors. In the absence of accountability frameworks and decentralized governance, solvers create censorship avenues that compromise Web3 principles,” he noted.
“Intent-based systems depend on solvers backing capital and executing transactions swiftly. If the number of competing solvers is insufficient, or if the leading ones collude, users lose the advantages of competitive pricing and optimal execution. The system only functions effectively when a robust, diverse solver network exists.”
The EIL is expressly designed to allow wallets to carry out cross-chain actions without dependence on intermediaries that may steal or freeze funds or execute sandwich attacks. Rather than executing transactions, liquidity providers are incentivized to rebalance funds within cross-chain pools.
“EIL operates on an account basis: each user’s account directly executes every call on all chains. Liquidity providers solely supply gas and assets—they never submit transactions and never engage with call targets,” explained EIL developer Yoav Weiss. “This eliminates the ‘mid-state’ trust dependency inherent in intents and bridges, where a third-party solver/relayer executes transactions on the user’s behalf.”
The Ethereum Foundation’s rollout, encompassing three phases, aimed for completion by 2026. Still, it seems to be in the research and development stage. The system won’t function optimally until rapid L1 confirmations are introduced in a forthcoming hard fork. Nevertheless, the production contracts for the Open Intents Framework are already active.
Taiko operates as a based rollup, utilizing Ethereum’s validators for sequencing. This provides the potential for synchronous composability: real-time interoperability with other based rollups. It “is still a future objective but is closer than ever,” Mendes remarked.
“The EIL also advantages based rollups: while based rollups can more effortlessly compose with each other through shared L1 sequencing, the EIL furnishes a standardized messaging layer to interoperate smoothly with non-based rollups, enhancing connectivity throughout the broader ecosystem.”
ZKsync’s Atlas upgrade
Ethereum’s L2s are also capitalizing on ZK-proofs. Appchain Lighter employs custom ZK circuits to scale up to tens of thousands of TPS, and ZKsync utilizes the technology to provide immediate interoperability between the Ethereum L1 and ZKsync chains through its Atlas upgrade and new Gateway architecture. The first Atlas chain in operation, the UAE’s institutional chain ADI, has recently gone live.
According to Gluchowski from Matter Labs, the upgrade allows funds to remain on mainnet while being traded in the swift execution environment of chains in ZKsync’s Elastic Network.
He clarified that funds can stay on the Ethereum L1 while instantly accessible on the L2s. Broadly speaking, he noted, “Assets are held on Ethereum L1, and ZK-proofs are utilized to securely indicate their movement across ZK Chains.”
“From a user or application perspective, assets originating from L1 can be operated on ZKsync chains as effectively real-time while still benefiting from Ethereum’s security and finality. For institutional and real-world asset flows that already await Ethereum’s finality, Atlas eliminates interop latency as a bottleneck.”
Atlas effectively allows L2s to tap into Ethereum’s vast total value locked (TVL), much of which has hesitated to bridge funds to L2s thus far.
“Traditionally, each L2 had to bootstrap its own liquidity, establish separate bridges, and recreate the same DeFi structure, which is both capital-inefficient and risky. Thanks to Atlas and Gateway, ZKsync chains can directly access Ethereum’s liquidity in near real-time, rather than dispersing it across isolated pools. L2↔L2 transactions occur in approximately 1 second, with L1↔L2 transfers now finalizing faster than a single Ethereum block.”
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