Vitalik Buterin Targets 1,000X Ethereum Scaling Even Amid ETH Sell-Off

Even as ETH plunged over 6% to below the $2,000 mark, co-founder Vitalik Buterin continued to focus on the network’s long-term technical roadmap, publishing a new proposal aimed at dramatically increasing Ethereum’s capacity.

ETH price (Source: CoinCodex)

In new research shared on X, Buterin outlined an ambitious plan to dramatically increase Ethereum’s capacity, arguing that the path to 1,000-fold scaling may depend on fundamentally rethinking how the blockchain stores state.

This comes after Buterin said earlier that Ethereum’s development team needs to shift focus to scaling the network via the layer-1 instead of layer-2 blockchains.

A Different Path to Scaling

According to the proposal, Ethereum’s long-term scaling strategy could rely on a hybrid approach. Instead of attempting to expand the existing state model to extreme levels, the network could keep today’s state structure largely intact while introducing new, cheaper, and more restrictive forms of state.

In this design, the current state tree would gradually be dominated by high-value objects such as user accounts, core DeFi contracts, and smart-contract code, according to Buterin. 

Meanwhile, more granular or per-user items—like ERC-20 balances, NFTs, and individual collateral positions—would be handled through alternative state systems designed specifically for scale.

These new state types would be significantly cheaper but would come with restrictions on how they can be accessed or manipulated. The trade-off, Buterin suggested, could ultimately make the network far more scalable while keeping developer experience manageable.

Why State Is the Hardest Problem

Research shared by Buterin in his post highlights a structural asymmetry in Ethereum’s architecture. 

Execution and data can be scaled through techniques like zero-knowledge proofs and data availability sampling. But state—essentially the database of the blockchain—must be stored and accessed in full by block builders.

At present, Ethereum’s state grows by roughly 100 gigabytes per year. Scaling the system by 20 times could push annual growth to around two terabytes. 

Within a few years, that would translate into multi-terabyte state sizes, creating major challenges for node operators and builders.

While large disks are relatively cheap, the real problems lie in database performance and synchronization. As state size increases, database operations become more complex, and syncing new nodes could take impractically long periods, potentially centralizing the network around a smaller number of professional operators.

Tiered State Instead of One-Size-Fits-All

The proposal also introduces the concept of “tiered state,” where different classes of data are stored using different mechanisms depending on their importance and frequency of access.

Permanent state would hold core accounts, smart-contract code, and major DeFi hubs. Meanwhile, less critical or frequently changing data could be stored in cheaper, temporary systems.

One suggested approach involves temporary storage trees that reset periodically, such as once a month. These could handle short-term or disposable data from auctions, governance votes, or gaming interactions. 

Another idea involves UTXO-like models where state entries are created, spent, and then moved into history, reducing the amount of active storage.

Under this framework, developers would have a choice. They could continue building applications using today’s permanent state model, paying somewhat higher fees. Or they could redesign their applications to use the newer, cheaper state forms and benefit from drastically lower transaction costs.

Toward the 1,000x Vision

The proposal is part of a broader roadmap that targets a 1,000-fold increase in Ethereum’s capacity over the coming years. 

Execution could be scaled through zero-knowledge virtual machines, while data throughput could expand through technologies like PeerDAS and blob-based blocks.

State, however, requires a different approach. Rather than searching for a single “magic bullet,” Buterin’s research suggests a layered design where multiple types of storage coexist.

If successful, the strategy could allow Ethereum to maintain its developer-friendly architecture while reaching the massive scale needed for global-level adoption.