Vitalik: Ethereum’s PeerDAS and ZK‑EVMs Solve the Trilemma, Roadmap to Mass Scalability

Published: 2026-01-05 22:55:46 |

Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin said the blockchain trilemma—decentralization, security and scalability—has been solved in practice through two technologies: Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS) and zero‑knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (ZK‑EVMs). PeerDAS is already active on mainnet and ZK‑EVMs have reached alpha/near‑production performance. Buterin framed these as structural network changes, enabling much higher throughput without sacrificing decentralization or consensus. He outlined a multi‑year roadmap: raise gas limits starting around 2026, update data‑handling and network structure between 2026–2028, enable early opportunities to run ZK‑EVM nodes in 2026, and shift verification/validation responsibilities to ZK‑EVMs between 2027–2030. Longer‑term work includes distributed block building to reduce centralization in transaction ordering. Community reaction is mixed—enthusiasm over scalability gains but concern about new centralization vectors (Layer‑2 reliance and large staking operators) and ETH’s price weakness in 2025. For traders: the announcement signals fundamental scalability and data‑availability improvements for ETH that could materially increase on‑chain throughput and application capacity over the medium to long term. Expect volatility around milestone releases and adoption signals (gas limit increases, ZK‑EVM node launches, validator role shifts). Key trading catalysts will be testnet/mainnet deployments, measurable throughput increases, and signs that decentralization risks are being mitigated.

Bullish

Net positive for ETH price over the medium to long term. The announcement addresses a core technical bottleneck—data availability and execution scaling—by introducing PeerDAS and ZK‑EVMs, which should enable materially higher on‑chain throughput without giving up decentralization or security. For traders, that means increased utility and demand potential for ETH as more and larger dApps can run on‑chain, improving fundamental value. Short term, expect mixed reactions and volatility. Markets often price uncertainty: skepticism about centralization risks (Layer‑2 dependencies, large staking operators) and the multi‑year timeline (milestones mostly 2026–2030) may cap immediate upside. Price catalysts will be concrete technical milestones: mainnet PeerDAS metrics, ZK‑EVM node availability, gas limit increases, and demonstrable throughput gains. If those milestones hit and decentralization safeguards hold, upward pressure on ETH is likely; failure or centralization concerns could mute gains.