The Ethereum Foundation has outlined a major three-track protocol roadmap for 2026, targeting scaling, user experience, and Layer 1 security. The plan includes increasing the gas limit beyond 100 million, advancing post-quantum security, and delivering upgrades like Glamsterdam and Hegotá. Development will be consolidated into dedicated tracks to streamline efforts on network capacity and resilience.
The **Ethereum Foundation** announced a restructuring of its protocol development into three core tracks for 2026. This overhaul aims to combine scaling, security hardening, and user experience improvements following last year’s network upgrades.
The “Scale” track will oversee continued gas limit increases toward and beyond 100 million gas per block, supported by client benchmarking. It will also manage further blob parameter increases and deliver scaling components for the planned Glamsterdam network upgrade.
The “Improve UX” track focuses on protocol-level changes to simplify user interaction, including native account abstraction and interoperability. This work, building on EIP-7702, also provides a pathway for transitioning away from ECDSA-based authentication as part of post-quantum readiness.
The new “Harden the L1” track introduces a dedicated focus on preserving Ethereum’s core properties as the network scales. This includes security initiatives such as post-quantum readiness, research into censorship resistance, and expanded testing infrastructure for a faster upgrade cadence.
Post-quantum readiness was identified as a crucial consideration across multiple areas of protocol development. The Foundation stated its protocol work will address cryptographic security amidst advancing quantum computing capabilities.
The Glamsterdam upgrade is targeted for the first half of 2026, with the Hegotá upgrade planned for later in the year. These are expected to include higher gas limits, continued blob scaling, and progress on native account abstraction and censorship resistance.
