According to Vitalik Buterin's blog, Ethereum plans to increase its capacity to over 100,000 transactions per second. Currently, the network processes 173.6 TPS using blobs or 607 TPS including calldata.
The 'Surge' is part of Ethereum's scaling roadmap, combining Layer 1 improvements and Layer 2 solutions. Key technologies include:
"This is a pattern that recurs everywhere in society: the court system (L1) is not there to be ultra-fast and efficient, it's there to protect contracts and property rights, and it's up to entrepreneurs (L2) to build on top of that sturdy base layer and take humanity to (metaphorical and literal) Mars," Buterin writes in his blog.
Data Availability Sampling lets nodes check large amounts of data by verifying small parts. This increases data throughput while keeping the network decentralized. Ethereum plans two types of DAS:
PeerDAS lets nodes ask for samples from the whole network. SubnetDAS limits sampling to specific groups of nodes.
L2 Data Compression To reduce data L2s post on L1, Ethereum is looking at:
Plasma's Role in Scaling Generalized Plasma lets operators publish only block summaries on-chain, keeping full blocks off-chain. Users get proofs of their assets, allowing safe withdrawals even if some data is missing.
SNARKs (a type of cryptographic proof) make Plasma better by simplifying challenges and allowing it to handle more types of assets.
Buterin says in his blog that this approach "greatly improved on the status quo of ultra-scalable EVM, which is a validium," even if it only works for some assets.
Ethereum is advancing its L2 solutions through a three-stage development process. Currently, most L2s are at Stage 0 or 1, where validation is still partially centralized. The goal is to reach Stage 2, where proof systems become fully trustless and security councils intervene only for provable bugs. To achieve this, developers are exploring formal verification techniques and multi-prover approaches.
Interoperability between L2s is another key focus. Proposed improvements include chain-specific addresses, standardized cross-chain payment requests, and light clients for L2 verification. These enhancements aim to create a seamless user experience across the Ethereum ecosystem.
On the L1 front, Ethereum is considering several scaling strategies. These include careful increases to the gas limit, optimizing specific EVM operations, and the concept of native rollups. As Buterin points out, "it's absurd for everything to go on L1," as the potential use cases could require hundreds of thousands of transactions per second, which would make L1 verification unfeasible.
Ethereum's "Surge" roadmap is part of a multi-year development plan. Following the transition to Proof-of-Stake in September 2022 ("The Merge"), developers are now focusing on scalability improvements. This effort fits into a larger roadmap including "The Verge" (simplifying block verification), "The Purge" (reducing network storage needs), and "The Splurge" (various other improvements). Each phase addresses different aspects of Ethereum's evolution. The 100,000+ TPS target would increase Ethereum's current capacity, which processes about 15-30 transactions per second.
The plan addresses the scalability trilemma - the challenge of balancing scalability, security, and decentralization. Vitalik Buterin notes in his blog: "The combination of data availability sampling and SNARKs does solve the trilemma: it allows a client to verify that some quantity of data is available, and some number of steps of computation were carried out correctly, while downloading only a small portion of that data and running a much smaller amount of computation."
While this approach offers a promising solution, Ethereum's evolution continues to present challenges. As the network expands, its complexity increases with new features and optimizations, potentially introducing more bugs and vulnerabilities. The Ethereum community must navigate these technical hurdles while striving to maintain the network's core principles of security and decentralization alongside improved scalability.