TLDR
- Vitalik Buterin said Ethereum’s Hegotá upgrade, planned for 2027, could be the network’s last “normal” fork.
- Future development may focus on recursive STARKs, automated formal verification, optimized consensus and quantum-safe cryptography.
- Buterin said PeerDAS marked the start of Ethereum’s shift toward becoming a “cryptographic world computer.”
- Researcher Barnabé Monnot said important records should stay onchain even as computing moves offchain.
- Crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro questioned how much demand exists for proof-based systems.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the network’s Hegotá upgrade could be its last “normal” fork. He shared this view in a blog post published on Sunday.
Hegotá is planned for 2027. Buterin said it will likely be the final upgrade whose features would still be familiar to someone who knew Ethereum in 2015.
After Hegotá, he expects development to shift toward newer technologies. These include recursive STARKs, automated formal verification, optimized consensus and quantum-safe cryptography.
Ethereum Moves Toward a “Cryptographic World Computer”
Buterin pointed to PeerDAS as the start of this change. PeerDAS lets nodes check that data is available by sampling parts of it instead of downloading everything.
He said the feature marked the beginning of Ethereum’s transition “from being just a blockchain to being something much more powerful.”
Buterin described the new direction as Ethereum becoming a “cryptographic world computer.” In this model, nodes would no longer simply download and re-run every transaction.
Instead, the network would combine blockchains with cryptographic verification, privacy tools and decentralized offchain parts.
The shift could change how Ethereum apps are built. More computing work could happen offchain, while the base layer verifies results, settles transactions and keeps access to shared onchain data.
Developers and Commentators Weigh In
The blog post led to debate over how much computing and data should move offchain. People also discussed what Ethereum itself should keep handling directly.
Ethereum researcher Barnabé Monnot said moving computation offchain, while proving the results onchain, could greatly cut the work the network must do. He added that it could allow for lighter nodes.
However, Monnot said a “world computer” should still keep important records onchain. These are the records its applications depend on.
He said this would let users see what is happening and use applications directly. They would not need to rely on outside servers or middlemen.
A pseudonymous commentator known as Cryptographic said the design could expand what decentralized finance (DeFi) apps can do. More complex computing could take place outside smart contracts, with Ethereum checking that the results follow protocol rules.
Cryptographic used DeFi lending as an example. Tasks such as collateral analysis, liquidation routing, or matching borrowers with lenders could happen offchain before Ethereum verifies and settles the outcome.
Not everyone was convinced. Crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro questioned how much demand exists for proof-based systems compared with traditional models built on trust.
Shapiro said many financial services today depend on reputation, regulation and legal enforcement. They do not rely on constant cryptographic verification.
For now, Hegotá is still planned for 2027. The Ethereum Foundation has already named two must-ship Ethereum Improvement Proposals for the upgrade.
The post Vitalik Buterin Says Ethereum Hegotá Upgrade Could Be Last “Normal” Fork appeared first on Blockonomi.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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