Lean Ethereum: Supercharging L1 to 10k TPS

Ethereum’s next leap swaps heavy execution for instant proof verification. Justin Drake’s “Lean Ethereum” roadmap packs zk-SNARKs (<12 s proofs, ~10 kW on-prem provers) into the base layer, unlocking gigagas throughput (≈10 000 TPS), stronger decentralization, seconds-level finality (Fossil), and post-quantum signatures. Key moves include the four-phase EthProofs rollout, a three-times-a-year gas target (EIP-7938), and native rollups to ditch L2 gas caps.

Under the hood: validators become lean clients, separated builder-prover-proposer roles (PBS), and Fossil blocks smooth consensus. Home provers get incentives and hardware cost trade-offs, while data availability, lean consensus, and upgrades round out the vision. If you’ve ever wondered how Ethereum scales without turning into a data-center chain, this is the playbook.

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