Vitalik Buterin believes Ethereum has reached a point many thought was unattainable. According to the Ethereum co-founder, recent upgrades now allow the network to combine scalability, decentralization, and consensus at the same time.
The shift is driven by two key developments: PeerDAS now running on Ethereum’s mainnet and zero-knowledge EVMs reaching production-level performance. PeerDAS removes long-standing bandwidth limits, while ZK-EVMs are expected to begin limited mainnet use in 2026, with broader adoption in the years that follow.
“These are not minor improvements; they are shifting Ethereum into being a fundamentally new and more powerful kind of decentralized network,”
Vitalik compared Ethereum’s progress to earlier systems. BitTorrent offered decentralization and bandwidth but no consensus, while Bitcoin delivered consensus with limited throughput. Ethereum’s latest upgrades aim to merge all three qualities using live infrastructure rather than theoretical designs.
“Now, Ethereum with PeerDAS (2025) and ZK-EVMs (expect small portions of the network using it in 2026), we get: decentralized, consensus and high bandwidth,”
Buterin stated.
“The trilemma has been solved, not on paper, but with live running code.”
Looking ahead, Vitalik outlined further improvements planned between 2026 and 2028, including higher gas limits, protocol adjustments, and structural changes designed to keep Ethereum scalable without increasing centralization.
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