Ethereum Foundation Releases Strawmap Draft: A Comprehensive Plan for Seven Forks by 2029 and the "Trillion Gas" Vision

On February 25, 2026, the Ethereum ecosystem welcomed a highly significant technical blueprint. The Ethereum Foundation (EF) protocol team officially released a draft roadmap called “Strawmap.” The name, combining “strawman” (a draft or target) and “roadmap,” sets a humble and open tone from the start: it’s not an official top-down command but a “target document” intended to spark in-depth discussion and coordination.

Strawmap extends the upgrade perspective of Ethereum’s Layer 1 protocol through the end of 2029, planning approximately seven forks at six-month intervals. It’s not just a technical blueprint but also a deep exploration of Ethereum’s governance philosophy, technical limits, and ecosystem landscape. Amid recent significant price fluctuations, as of February 25, 2026, according to Gate data, ETH is priced at $2,063.28 with a 24-hour trading volume of $535.04 million, and a nearly 35% decline over the past 30 days. This long-term plan for the next four years provides a narrative anchor beyond short-term price volatility.

Overview: One Diagram, Five Years, Seven Forks

The core of Strawmap is a visualized technical roadmap that consolidates numerous Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) into a unified timeline, aiming to give researchers and core developers a “holistic view” of Layer 1 upgrades. The draft clearly states five “North Star” goals to guide the coming years:

• Fast L1: Achieve transaction finality within seconds, greatly improving user experience.
• “Gigagas” L1: Integrate zkEVM (Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine) and real-time proofs to reach 1 gigagas/sec (about 10,000 TPS).
• “Teragas” L2: Use Data Availability Sampling (DAS) technology to support L2 scaling to teragas/sec (around 10 million TPS).
• Post-Quantum Security: Introduce hash-based cryptography to resist future quantum computer threats.
• Native Privacy L1: Incorporate privacy features like “shielded ETH transfers” as first-class protocol functions.

To achieve these goals, Strawmap outlines a clear timeline: starting with confirmed forks like Glamsterdam and Hegotá, followed by future upgrades marked with placeholders such as I and J, aiming to complete about seven forks by the end of 2029.

Background and Timeline: From Internal Workshops to Public Draft

Strawmap’s emergence was no accident. It originated from an internal workshop organized by EF in January 2026. Researchers there sought better integration between the long-term vision of a “lightweight Ethereum” and short-term technical initiatives. By mapping complex upgrade dependencies and fork constraints, a comprehensive sketch of the technical evolution gradually took shape.

Researcher Justin Drake later presented it publicly on behalf of the EF protocol team, marking a shift from internal discussion to external visibility. The term “Strawman” in the name accurately reflects the Ethereum Foundation’s view of its role: in a highly decentralized ecosystem, there is no single “official roadmap.” Instead, this document functions as a “probing stone” for EF to gauge community consensus and gather feedback.

Data and Structural Analysis: Layered Technical Progression

The visual structure of Strawmap itself is a profound analytical model. It divides complex upgrade projects into three horizontal layers based on function:

• Consensus Layer (CL): Focuses on optimizing mechanisms like Casper FFG to shorten slot times and improve finality. Vitalik Buterin has explained that the goal is to reduce block times from about 12 seconds to 2 seconds, and final confirmation time from roughly 16 minutes to 6-16 seconds.
• Data Layer (DL): Centers on Data Availability Sampling (DAS), the foundation for achieving “teragas” scale on L2, providing vast, inexpensive, and secure data space.
• Execution Layer (EL): Focuses on introducing zkEVM for real-time proofs and exploring native privacy features (e.g., Shielded ETH).

The diagram highlights each fork’s key focus areas as “headline features.” For example, in the Glamsterdam fork, the consensus headline is ePBS (separating execution and consensus proposers), and the execution headline is BALs (account abstraction features). This “one big thing at a time” rhythm aims to maintain high-frequency updates every six months, balancing ambition with stability.

Public Sentiment and Discourse: Consensus, Controversies, and Questions

Fact: Strawmap has been publicly released, outlining five major goals and a preliminary plan for seven forks.

Mainstream view: The community generally sees it as a reflection of Ethereum’s long-term vision and technical foresight. Especially the inclusion of quantum resistance and native privacy as top priorities is viewed as a strategic move to reinforce Ethereum’s position as a leading public chain. The plan for high-performance L2s also addresses ongoing market expectations for scalability.

Controversies and questions: Strawmap has sparked multi-faceted discussions.

• Decentralization and Governance: Some observers question whether this EF-led “draft” might subtly influence development directions and weaken community diversity. Although labeled a “strawman,” its origin from EF still raises caution among purists who emphasize decentralization.
• Technical Feasibility: Achieving a reduction from 12 seconds to 2 seconds in slot time, while simultaneously integrating zkEVM, DAS, and post-quantum cryptography within four years, presents enormous technical challenges. Some developers believe the timeline may be overly optimistic, especially given that formal verification and AI-assisted development are not yet fully mature.
• Privacy and Regulation: Making “native privacy” a core goal aligns with the cypherpunk ethos but also raises concerns about potential regulatory complications. Balancing user privacy with compliance will be a long-term strategic challenge.

Narrative Authenticity: Sincerity and Limitations of a “Target”

The most intriguing aspect of Strawmap is its candid acknowledgment of being a “non-official” document. It states explicitly that “reflecting all stakeholders’ consensus in an ‘official’ roadmap is actually impossible.” This declaration itself is a form of narrative authenticity—it recognizes the complexity, uncertainty, and spontaneity of Ethereum governance.

Therefore, when evaluating Strawmap, we must clearly distinguish between:

• Facts: EF protocol team has published a document called Strawmap, including specific fork plans and technical goals.
• Opinions: This document represents a “reasonable and coherent” technical path as perceived by some EF researchers.
• Speculation: These forks are expected to follow a roughly six-month cycle and achieve targeted performance metrics (e.g., 10,000 TPS) by 2029.

The value of Strawmap lies not in it being an infallible “bible,” but in providing the community with a “target” that can be collectively refined, critiqued, and expanded. It’s a “coordinative tool” for acceleration, structured to turn dispersed discussions into a more organized process.

Industry Impact: Reshaping the Public Chain Landscape

Speculation: The release of Strawmap will have profound structural impacts on the entire crypto industry.

• Setting new benchmarks for L1 and L2: While other chains still compete over limited DeFi liquidity, Ethereum is now targeting quantum resistance and protocol-layer privacy. This shifts the long-term narrative from “TPS race” to “ultimate security” and “compliance privacy.”
• Redefining Layer 2 dynamics: The goal of “teragas” L2 will further intensify the arms race among Optimistic Rollups and ZK-Rollups. Projects that can quickly adopt DAS and reach ultra-high TPS will gain significant first-mover advantages.
• Guiding developers and capital: A clear, ambitious roadmap provides certainty for developers and long-term investors. In an industry rife with short-term speculation and Ponzi-like schemes, Strawmap’s technical resolve can attract more serious Web2 developers and institutional capital into Ethereum.
• Long-term ETH asset value: While the roadmap itself isn’t a price prediction, its successful implementation would greatly reinforce ETH’s role as the ecosystem’s core asset. A faster, safer, more scalable network will capture more on-chain value, strengthening ETH’s fundamental support.

Multi-Scenario Evolution

Based on current information, we can envision several possible futures for Strawmap:

Optimistic Scenario (Progressive Advancement)

• Path: Broad community consensus on the five major goals; core developers collaborate efficiently. AI-assisted development and formal verification breakthroughs significantly shorten testing cycles. All seven forks are implemented as planned, enabling Ethereum to achieve a leap in performance and features.
• Outcome: Ethereum’s leading position expands, becoming the backbone for mainstream finance and internet applications—realizing the “world computer” vision.

Realistic Scenario (Gradual Delays)

• Path: Technical complexities of zkEVM, DAS, and post-quantum cryptography exceed expectations; some headline features are delayed or split into later forks. The six-month cycle is disrupted.
• Outcome: Some goals are achieved, but timelines extend considerably. Ecosystem focus shifts more toward L2 development, with L1’s “gigagas” target becoming a bottleneck. Market enthusiasm may shift to other faster-moving technologies.

Governance Divergence (Path Splitting)

• Path: Disagreements over key features like native privacy implementation or quantum algorithms lead to serious governance splits. Some developers or miners may fork a different chain.
• Outcome: Ethereum ecosystem experiences a split; while the main chain may continue along EF’s Strawmap, community consensus weakens, causing short-term uncertainty for applications and liquidity.

Conclusion

Strawmap is more than just a technical diagram; it’s a public statement from Ethereum’s core circle about the future. It clearly communicates that even in a decentralized world, there is a need for visionaries to sketch the long-term path, outline steps, and propose bold ideas. Its release itself is a “constructive” act.

For market participants, understanding Strawmap means looking beyond daily price swings to the logical evolution of Ethereum over the next four years. Whether it’s the “fast L1” experience, the “teragas” L2 potential, or preparations against quantum threats, the vision outlined in Strawmap deserves long-term, cautious attention. As its name suggests, it’s just the beginning—a prologue to a long, exciting journey of coordination and building.