Ethereum Foundation member: Ethereum is shifting towards verifying execution correctness by checking zkEVM proofs.

PANews reported on February 10th that Ethereum Foundation member ladislaus.eth published an article stating that Ethereum is advancing a key but relatively low-key architectural shift: moving from nodes repeatedly executing all transactions within a block to verifying the correctness of execution through zkEVM proofs. This solution is implemented through the EIP-8025 proposal and remains an optional approach, allowing nodes to continue using the existing re-execution mode. After implementing this solution, nodes acting as "ZK validators" will no longer need to store the complete execution layer state or synchronize full-chain data, lowering the hardware barrier to consensus participation. This is particularly beneficial for independent stakers and home validators, enabling them to regain self-verification capabilities on consumer-grade hardware. The design also maintains client diversity, requiring validators to verify 3 out of 5 independent proofs before accepting a block.

This change is closely related to the "embedded proposer-builder separation" mechanism to be implemented in the upcoming Glamsterdam hard fork, which can extend the proof generation window from 1-2 seconds to 6-9 seconds, making real-time proof generation more feasible. The Ethereum Foundation's ZK-EVM team has released its 2026 L1-ZK-EVM roadmap, covering six major themes including execution witness, ZK virtual machine API standardization, and consensus layer integration. The first symposium is scheduled for February 11.