So the Ethereum Foundation just released Strawmap, which is basically a comprehensive technical roadmap for the Ethereum protocol until 2029. Researcher Justin Drake introduced this document, and honestly, it’s quite significant because it signals a shift toward a more structured and predictable upgrade schedule.

What’s interesting is their change in nomenclature. Previously, we were familiar with terms like Merge, Surge, Scourge—but now they are shifting focus to more specific technical milestones. The meaning of this evolution is that Ethereum wants to move from a general narrative to more concrete targets. About seven forks are planned through 2029, aiming to transform Layer 1 into a high-performance foundation capable of supporting a global digital economy.

One of the biggest strategic changes is adopting a new schedule: one fork every six months. This is much more predictable compared to before, where upgrades varied in duration and scope. With this standardization, the Ethereum Foundation provides better clarity to developers and ecosystem participants about the 2029 milestones and long-term protocol stability.

Now, onto the ambitious technical targets. There’s the "Gigagas" initiative targeting 10,000 TPS on the Layer 1 mainnet through direct integration of zkEVM into the protocol. The concept is that by leveraging real-time zero-knowledge proofs, the network can verify complex computations much faster. The result is capacity could increase to one billion gas per second—very impressive for mainnet without sacrificing decentralization or requiring special hardware for node operators.

But that’s just part of the vision. On the Layer 2 side, they push the "Teragas" goal with the implementation of Data Availability Sampling (DAS). This allows L2 networks to verify large data volumes without downloading everything. The ambitious target is 10 million TPS across the entire L2 ecosystem. For end users, this means transaction fees are nearly zero and dApps run at speeds comparable to traditional web services.

On the security front, Strawmap prioritizes post-quantum cryptography as a first-class protocol objective. As computing power advances, threats also evolve—quantum computers could theoretically break current encryption standards. The Ethereum Foundation is planning a transition to hash-based schemes to stay secure in the quantum era.

Privacy is also a focus. They are planning native L1 privacy with "protected ETH transfers"—not relying on third-party mixers or complex application-layer tools. This is a fundamental shift to give users enhanced confidentiality at the base layer.

The roadmap is divided into three main workstreams: scaling (increasing raw throughput of L1 and L2), improving UX (reducing finality time, simplifying developer interactions), and hardening L1 (boosting security through quantum resistance and protocol-level privacy). The first forks like Glamsterdam and Hegotá are expected to lay the groundwork for these more ambitious goals.

The Ethereum Foundation describes Strawmap as a "living document"—not a rigid set of predictions, but a coordination tool. It reflects the collective technical vision of protocol teams while remaining open to community feedback and research breakthroughs. With a clear path toward high-speed L1 and L2 performance, Ethereum positions itself to maintain its role as the leading smart contract platform. For stakeholders, this 2029 roadmap provides a transparent view of the technical challenges the network aims to overcome to become a truly scalable and private "world computer."