Ethereum Foundation's Roadmap for Layer 2 Interoperability

On Friday, the Ethereum Foundation announced a detailed roadmap aimed at making Ethereum feel cohesive again. The update emphasizes faster confirmations, trust-minimized cross-chain interactions, and new user experience and privacy tools on Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain in the cryptocurrency world. The roadmap introduces three workstreams: "Initialisation," "Acceleration," and "Finalisation," with deliverables and target dates extending into 2026, as detailed in the official blog post. The Initialisation workstream involves the rollout of an Open Intents Framework, allowing users to specify their desired outcomes. Developers have also proposed an Ethereum Interoperability Layer (EIL) to facilitate trustless transactions across Layer 2 networks, coupled with a set of standards to minimize friction. The EIL aims to restore the feeling of a single chain without compromising the core values of Ethereum—censorship-resistance, openness, privacy, and security. Production contracts for the intents framework are now live, with security audits and a reference solver expected by Q4 2025 and a public design document set for release in October. The Acceleration stream focuses on latency reduction, introducing a fast Layer 1 confirmation rule that promises strong confirmations within 15–30 seconds across consensus clients, with broad release planned for Q1 2026. Efforts to halve slot times from 12 seconds to 6 seconds are also underway, alongside plans for optimistic rollups using ZK-based real-time proving and a secure “2-of-3” faster settlement method. The Finalisation stream delves into real-time proving, or "snarkification," enhancing cross-chain settlement speed and Layer 1 finality. Snarkification employs zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-SNARKS) to optimize the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) environment. Recent updates include potential modifications to the beacon chain and the exploration of three-slot finality designs and alternative consensus protocols that would achieve finality in seconds if deemed safe and decentralized. This latest protocol update aligns with two Ethereum Foundation initiatives aimed at advancing Ethereum as a global computer. The first is Phase 2 of the "Trillion Dollar Security" program, focused on improving signing, key management, and wallet standards. Additionally, the efforts tie in with the "Kohaku" project, a privacy wallet initiative led by Vitalik Buterin and EF coordinator Nicolas Consigny, which plans to deliver a software development kit (SDK) and a browser extension that support private addresses and transactions via a lightweight client. In other news, Ethereum's onchain activity has seen remarkable growth. As reported by The Block, the monthly onchain volume recently topped $320 billion, marking a four-year high and the third-highest level ever recorded. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media entity that provides news, research, and data. Foresight Ventures, a major investor in The Block as of November 2023, continues to operate independently to offer objective and impactful information about the crypto landscape.