Ethereum researcher Justin Drake has published this “Lean Ethereum” proposal On July 31, it will envelop the orders of survivability against nation-state and quantum threats and the increased distance command without sacrificing decentralization.
The new guidelines were called “Fort Mode” and “Beast Mode” respectively.
Posted on the Ethereum Foundation blog, The Vision argued that the network can simultaneously enhance security and expand fundamentally by fixing the mainnet to hash-based encryption and rebuilding all three protocol sublayers: consensus, data, and execution.
Ethereum co-founders Vitalik Buterin and Drake recently tackled the concept at an ETH-focused event in Berlin.
Fort mode and Beast mode
Drake’s security paper highlights that Ethereum must run under hostile conditions for decades, and even centuries.
According to the roadmap, the goal is “If the internet is up, Ethereum is up.” In performance, lean Ethereum targets horizontal scaling with approximately 10,000 transactions (TPS) in the mainnet via aggressive vertical scaling and approximately 1 million TP in the Layer 2 (L2) blockchain.
He added that enabling “Moonmass” is no longer oriented, suggesting real-time zero-knowledge virtual machines (ZKVMs) for data throughput execution and data availability sampling (DAS).
The purpose of complementary usability is to full chain verification of consumer devices such as browsers, phones, wallets, and more.
Three “lean” sublayers
Lean Ethereum suggests tailored upgrades across three different layers. The first is “Lean Consensus” or Beacon Chain 2.0, which focuses on strengthening the beacon chain for maximum security and decentralization.
Lean Data (BLOBS 2.0) is the second layer. The goal is to enable a quarter “blob” with granular sizing to preserve developer experiences like Coaldata while increasing throughput.
Finally, Lean Run (EVM 2.0) consists of a minimal snark-friendly set of instructions that maintain EVM compatibility and network effects, but accelerate proof and verification.
Together, these changes aim to provide “performance richness” under the constraints of non-negotiable continuity and simplicity.
Hash-based cryptography as standard fabric
Lean Ethereum treats hash functions as the basic primitive of the entire layer. A total consensus signature to replace Born Lynn Shacham (BLS), hash-based commitments replacing data tier Kate, Zavercha and Goldberg (KZG), and hash-centered ZKVMS streamlines execution validation.
This approach is simultaneously designed to prevent future-proof against quantum enemies, harmonizing with the rapid rise of the Nark across the stack.
Drake said Lean Ethereum is just as engineering aesthetic as the roadmap. This concept is based on minimal modules, encapsulated complexity, formal verification, and provable security and optimality.
With an emphasis on “leancraft,” it seeks to standardize primitives that are easier to infer and validate while pruning legacy complexity.