Ethereum Foundation Outlines Long-Term Upgrade Plan in New ‘Strawmap’

Strawmap sketches seven forks by 2029, targeting faster finality, privacy upgrades, and quantum-resistant security.

Ethereum’s base layer could see up to seven major upgrades by 2029 under a new planning document from the Ethereum Foundation. Called the “Strawmap,” the proposal sets out a long-term vision for Layer 1 development. Researchers describe it as a coordination tool and not a fixed roadmap.

Strawmap Details Ethereum’s Multi-Year Scaling and Security Strategy

Ethereum Foundation presented the Strawmap as a long-term plan for future network upgrades. Justin Drake, a researcher within the EF Protocol team, shared the plan publicly. He framed it as a tool to guide discussion and support developers, researchers, and governance participants in pursuing shared goals.

Strawmap spans several years ahead instead of focusing only on the next upgrade. Most core devs typically focus on the next one or two upgrades. Meanwhile, the roadmap extends to 2029, with an estimate of one network upgrade every 6 months, or up to 7 forks in total.

The Strawmap roadmap originated at an Ethereum Foundation workshop in January 2026. Participants discussed how to connect big long-term goals with technical limits and upgrade schedules. After those talks, the plan was shared publicly to invite feedback and wider discussion.

Guiding the entire plan are five main goals. These “north stars” show what Ethereum wants to achieve over the long term. The five main goals include:

• Fast L1 targets shorter slots and second-level finality to improve the user experience at the protocol level.
• Gigagas L1 sets a throughput ambition of 10,000 transactions per second, powered by zkEVM systems and real-time proof generation.
• Teragas L2 pushes scaling toward roughly 10 million transactions per second through higher data throughput and sampling methods.
• Post-Quantum L1 plans to introduce hash-based cryptography to withstand potential quantum-computing threats.
• Private L1 proposes shielded ETH transfers to allow stronger privacy directly on the base layer.

Strawmap presents all planned upgrades on a single visual timeline. Structure divides changes into three horizontal layers: consensus, data, and execution. Each part handles a different function of the network.

Most upgrades, or “forks,” include one major change to consensus and one to execution. That way, development moves forward step by step without adding too many changes at once.

Ethereum’s Roadmap Details Future Fork Structure

Upcoming upgrades already have official names, such as Glamsterdam and Hegotá. Other future forks carry placeholder labels like “I*” and “J*.” Naming conventions follow a star-based sequence for consensus layer upgrades, building on earlier forks such as Altair and Capella.

Each fork usually features one major upgrade on the consensus side and one on the execution side. These key changes are called “headliners.” They are the main focus of that upgrade cycle. Limiting them helps keep each fork realistic and easier to manage.

Image Source: Strawmap

Strawmap is not an official roadmap. Ethereum is decentralized, with many different voices involved. No single plan reflects everyone’s opinion. Even within the Ethereum Foundation’s protocol team, views can differ.

The term “Strawmap” combines “strawman” and “roadmap.” Strawman label signals a work in progress. Justin stressed that the document sketches one coherent path among many possible outcomes. It does not predict future decisions.

Updates are expected every 3 months as research and governance decisions advance. Faster development methods, including AI tools and formal verification, could shorten timelines. For now, the plan assumes traditional, human-led development.

In simple terms, Strawmap gives a long-term outline for Ethereum’s base layer. From here, community discussions will focus on how to balance scaling, privacy, security, and decentralization over the coming years.

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