Ethereum's Evolution: Milestones and Transitions

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin returns to the podcast to discuss his recent article Endgame, as well as the massive year we observed in 2021. From the future of Ethereum to the rise of alternative Layer 1 platforms, it only makes sense to kick off 2022 by exploring how far we’ve come and figuring out where we’re headed.

How far are we along on Ethereum’s roadmap? What challenges lie ahead?

In a recent tweet, Vitalik posted a graphic of the updated progress of the Ethereum roadmap, and there are five throughlines that are progressing in parallel:

• The Merge • The Surge • The Verge • The Purge • The Splurge

We dive into what each of these means, as well as discuss what Ethereum will look like as these milestones are met. Holding this up against conversations of maximalism and alternative L1s, now is the time to start asking the big questions.

✨ WATCH THE DEBRIEF ✨ https://youtu.be/v__0GOC-XYE 

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------ Topics Covered:

0:00 Intro

4:09 Debrief

7:27 Vitalik Returns after 2021 11:40 2021 Ethereum Milestones 16:33 Roadmap Progress

19:35 The Merge (Proof of Stake)

24:20 The Surge (Rollups & Sharding) 32:59 Life after Sharding

42:40 The Verge (Verkle Trees)

49:35 The Purge (History Expiry) 57:03 State Expiry & Snake 1:03:40 Snakes & States

1:08:20 The Splurge (Everything Else)

1:15:20 What Makes Vitalik Happy

1:20:17 Rise of Alt Layer 1s 1:26:03 Gas Costs & Decentralization

1:29:11 Maximalism

1:34:03 Endgame 1:40:16 Alt L1s and Rollups 1:44:02 Multi-Rollup World 1:49:21 The Ground Floor

1:53:56 Solving the World’s Problems

1:58:33 Closing & Disclaimers

------ Resources:

VITALIK'S ARTICLES Endgame https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/12/06/endgame.html  The Limits to Blockchain Scalability https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/05/23/scaling.html  Verkle Trees https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/06/18/verkle.html  Pragmatic Destruction of Self-Destruct https://hackmd.io/@vbuterin/selfdestruct  Crypto Cities https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/10/31/cities.html  Legitimacy https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/03/23/legitimacy.html  Moving beyond coin voting governance https://vitalik.ca/general/2021/08/16/voting3.html 

VITALIK ON BANKLESS Legitimacy https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/-legitimacy-vitalik-buterin Beyond Coin Voting https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/beyond-coin-voting-vitalik-buterin Vitalik Speaks (Playlist) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmkdAgtxf3agqnA5IieA7OkKBjlhx9mn-

MISC. Roadmap Tweet https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1466411377107558402?s=20  Merge Testnet https://kintsugi.themerge.dev/  ETH TPS https://ethtps.info/ 

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