ConsenSys Founder Joe Lubin: Ethereum will fully implement zero-knowledge proofs within 3 to 5 years, truly becoming the "world computer"

Consensys founder and CEO Joe Lubin pointed out in an interview that Ethereum is expected to evolve into a "completely zero-knowledge proof (ZK-based)" underlying protocol within 3 to 5 years. He emphasized that although the current roadmap centered around Rollups has faced criticism due to liquidity fragmentation and user experience issues, upcoming real-time ZK proofs and composability innovations will thoroughly revitalize Ethereum and unlock "infinite capacity."
(Background: 10x Research: Bitmine Ethereum treasury suffers a $10 billion loss! Investors double-dipped, but "free bullish options" may be hidden in the ruins)
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• Strong support for Rollup endgame! Mainnet moves toward the "Lean Ethereum" vision
• From "Decentralized" to "Aggregated," eliminating cross-chain bridge asset transfers
• Major restructuring! Denying a second foundation, EF to split into three teams

In recent years, Ethereum has been vigorously promoting a "Rollup-centric" expansion roadmap, which has caused controversy within the community due to liquidity fragmentation among Layer 2 ecosystems and fragmented user experiences. Even co-founder Vitalik Buterin has publicly re-evaluated, stating that most L2s have become "branded shards." However, ConsenSys CEO Joe Lubin expressed strong confidence in this roadmap during an interview with The Block.

Lubin is optimistic that the latest breakthroughs in zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proving) and composability are revitalizing Ethereum’s scaling vision. He boldly predicts that Ethereum will leap into a fully ZK-based protocol within 3 to 5 years, truly fulfilling the "world computer" with unlimited capacity.

Strong support for Rollup endgame! Mainnet moves toward the "Lean Ethereum" vision

"I am a steadfast supporter of the Rollup-centric roadmap," Lubin said directly in the interview, stating that the current growing pains are just part of evolution. He pointed out that future core innovations will directly strengthen the Layer 1 (L1) mainnet. Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake previously proposed the vision of "Lean Ethereum," which aims to use advanced zero-knowledge cryptography to simplify the main chain, targeting over 10,000 TPS while maintaining high decentralization.

Lubin revealed that cryptography advancements will guide Ethereum to gradually adopt ZK proofs, ultimately transforming L1 into a ZK protocol supported entirely by multiple forms of verifiers (Provers). This not only improves L1’s security architecture but also fundamentally bridges the composability gap between L1 and L2.

From "Decentralized" to "Aggregated," eliminating cross-chain bridge asset transfers

Regarding Vitalik and Ethereum Foundation’s recent shift back to "making L1 itself cheaper and faster," Lubin emphasized that L2 remains an essential frontier for innovation. He joked that ZK proof technology first took root on L2, proving that the team "guessed right." Currently, L2 technology can achieve "real-time ZK proving," and this experience will soon feed back into and benefit the L1 mainnet.

Lubin explained that blockchain scaling has moved from the early "divergence phase" to the current "convergence phase." The fragmentation deliberately allowed in earlier stages to foster technological growth is now being repaired through chains like ConsenSys’ Linea and Gnosis, utilizing ZK technology to enable cross-network synchronized transaction composition.

The ultimate future goal is to achieve a "single atomic execution environment." At that point, user and asset movement across the entire Ethereum ecosystem will "no longer require cross-chain bridges," fully unifying fragmented liquidity. This technology has even extended to ConsenSys’ enterprise branch Besu, helping traditional financial giants like Citi, DTC, and BNY Mellon seamlessly integrate into the infinite capacity ecosystem of public chains.

Major restructuring! Denying a second foundation, EF to split into three teams

Besides the technical blueprint, Lubin also clarified recent rumors about Ethereum establishing a "second foundation." He explicitly denied this, but revealed that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is undergoing a major organizational restructuring, focusing future efforts on core protocol-related parts (CROPs).

Lubin pointed out that at least three teams will spin off from the Ethereum Foundation, focusing on "core protocol development," "usability and scalability," and "enterprise outreach." This organizational decentralization transformation, combined with the maturity of ZK technology, aims to push traditional economies fully onto the chain within the next 3 to 5 years, solidifying Ethereum’s dominance as the Web3 settlement layer.