Ethereum Roadmap – Merge, Surge, Scourge, Verge, Purge and Splurge

Vitalik Buterin's vision for Ethereum includes mobile-run validators and upgrades for speed, security, and capacity, reaching 100k transactions per second.

Vitalik Buterin envisioned an Ethereum where you could run a validator node on a mobile phone. The aim is to create a fast, light, secure and easy to use blockchain. However, that is not possible currently.

The following roadmap has been proposed by the Ethereum Foundation to upgrade Ethereum to a level where it becomes the only Blockchain you ever need.

The Merge

Ethereum's Transition from Proof-of-Work(red) to Proof-of-Stake(Green) Consensus Mechanism
Ethereum’s Transition from PoW to PoS, Called as The Merge

These were a series of upgrades that helped Ethereum transition from proof of work to the proof of stake consensus mechanism.

The transition helped Ethereum cut its energy utilization by 99.5%.

The Merge also enabled staking in Ethereum through which users locked a certain amount of funds in the blockchain to help validate transactions and receive rewards. In Ethereum, the higher your staking amount is, the more transactions you get to validate.

The Surge

The Surge in Ethereum
The Surge in Ethereum

The Surge is a series of upgrades which seeks to increase the throughput of the Ethereum Blockchain to 100k transactions per second.

A major upgrade in the Surge was kicked off on 13 March 2024 when the Dencun Upgrade was introduced. This upgrade added rollup like features to the Ethereum blockchain called “blobs

The Scourge

The Scourge series of Upgrades are aimed at overcoming censorship by governments, increase the decentralization of Ethereum and avoid risks from MEV.

The Verge

The Verge will be a series of upgrades to add blocks more easily to the Ethereum without compromising on its security.

Vitalik Buterin had envisioned an Ethereum Blockchain where blocks could be verified every minute by a validators node that could be so light that even a phone could run it.

The Purge

These series of Upgrade’s aim at reducing the computational costs of running nodes and simplifying the protocol.

The Splurge

These are to be a series of miscellaneous upgrades that don’t fit under any of the above upgrades.

Dhirendra Chandra Das
Dhirendra Chandra Das

Dhirendra is a professional with dual degree MBA specializations in Finance and Marketing. He has a keen interest in finance and crypto. Starting his investment journey in Finance since 2015, Dhirendra has more than 8 years experience in Traditional Finance and 3 years experience in Decentralized Finance.

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