30s Summary

Ethereum developer Justin Drake recently unveiled a comprehensive reworking of Ethereum called the ‘Beam Chain’. The blueprint combines current development ideas into a complete upgrade plan, including block creation and network security enhancements. While Drake suggests maintaining small annual updates, a substantial one would be added every few years, overhauling how updates are organized. The Beam Chain would focus on improving transaction processing, enabling immediate finalization of blocks and integrating zero-knowledge cryptography more deeply. However, Drake stressed it is solely about the consensus chain and did not label it as ‘Ethereum 3.0’.

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It’s been a while since the Ethereum community had something big to talk about. The high-point was over two years ago when Ethereum migrated to the more climate-friendly “proof-of-stake” system. Since then, there have been minor tweaks and upgrades designed to enable faster and cheaper “layer-2” blockchain networks. But now, something more significant could be on the horizon.

At a recent conference in Bangkok, a crucial player in Ethereum development, Justin Drake, presented his blueprint for an extensive redesign of Ethereum. He calls it the “Beam Chain.”

What is the Beam Chain? It’s a comprehensive revamp plan that collects all the latest and best ideas from the Ethereum development roadmap into one sweet deal. This includes upgrades to the system producing Ethereum’s blocks and adjustments to the processing of securing the network.

Drake’s announcement was eagerly awaited. He is a vital figure in the Ethereum community, known for his work on the 2022 Merge upgrade. His proposal for the Beam Chain excited the audience, sparking significant enthusiasm.

However, the Beam Chain does not mean immediate changes for Ethereum. It is, in many ways, an overhaul of the way future updates are organized. Today, the Ethereum code gets a face-lift roughly once a year. Drake suggests maintaining these small annual updates, but adding a substantial one every few years.

This major update, the Beam Chain, would focus on the part of the network handling transaction processing. According to Drake, the software is “kind of old” – it’s not been updated for five years. He believes that developers now understand much better how to make Ethereum more user-friendly and efficient, so it’s time to put these learnings into practice.

Part of the Beam Chain’s focus is faster transaction recording and processing. This could mean instant finalization of blocks with transaction details, making them permanent and secure.

Drake also outlined plans to integrate zero-knowledge cryptography deeper into Ethereum. This technology allows swift and cost-effective transactions that are then settled back down into the main chain. It’s scaling up the Ethereum blockchain and supporting speedy transactions.

However, zero-knowledge cryptography requires a lot of computing power, which could lead to concerns about centralization. Developers will have to find a way to manage the trade-off between speed and available resources.

Drake was reluctant to label his Beam Chain proposal as “Ethereum 3.0”. He stated that Beam Chain is solely about the consensus chain, while research is still being conducted into Ethereum’s execution and data layers that support apps and layer-2 data. Despite this, there’s no doubt that the Beam Chain is an ambitious update that could have significant implications for Ethereum’s future.