The Ethereum Foundation (EF) focuses on improving the Layer 1 network and enhancing the user experience through future sets of protocol upgrades.
On April 21st, EF’s next co-director, Tomasz Stańczak, confirmed that the organization is changing its research priorities. The new focus will focus on layer 1 performance, continuous support for layer 2 expansion, and tackling persistent usability challenges in the Ethereum ecosystem.
He said:
“Within EF, many of our research efforts will shift towards our nearest goals, aiming to address user experience and scaling challenges with the next two protocol upgrades.”
This means that upgrades may be deployed across updates to several protocols, including Pectra, Fusaka, and Glamsterdam.
Stańczak noted that internal discussions about the Ethereum roadmap are broad and have received strong support from the developer community.
However, he emphasized that turning these concepts into live upgrades requires consistent efforts from researchers and core developers.
Meanwhile, Stańczak said some of Ethereum’s long-term initiatives could arrive earlier than initially predicted. He attributes this acceleration to an increased contribution from the research community.
He added:
“We are currently exploring ways to propose projects that look three to five years away. Submissions from top researchers will help ship within one or two years through initiatives such as next-generation execution and consensus layers.”
Vitalik Buterin moves to study roles
As part of a recent leadership change within the foundation, Stańczak has announced that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin will focus solely on research and exploratory work.
According to Stańczak:
“We aimed, among other things, to free up more time for Vitalik’s research and exploration, rather than daily adjustments or responses to crisis. Every time Vitalik shares or communicates insights, he accelerates major long-term breakthroughs.”
Stańczak highlighted that Buterin’s insights have often inspired advancements in key areas such as ZKVM development, RISC-V research, and privacy-enhancing technologies. These contributions helped recalibrate Ethereum’s core missions while opening a new technical frontier, he said.
However, Stańczak made it clear that Buterin’s proposal was not a final decision. Instead, they are designed to induce conversations and encourage critical community input.
He also emphasized the importance of peer review and the freedom to challenge ideas.
“Community reviews could reject them significantly improving (Buterin’s suggestion). The same freedom is needed for other researchers who show courage by suggesting difficult questions and suggesting alternative approaches.”
