JUSTIN DRAKE'S “LEAN ETHEREUM” VISION

Summary from the TLDR Crypto newsletter

Lean Ethereum is a technical roadmap that succeeds the Beam Chain project and aims to achieve 10,000+ TPS on Ethereum's L1 while maintaining full decentralization and chain verification from mobile devices or browsers. The vision relies on two key technical breakthroughs: real-time zkVMs that can prove EVM execution in seconds for under a cent per transaction, and data availability sampling (DAS), which allows lightweight clients to verify massive blob throughput without downloading full datasets. Lean Ethereum proposes comprehensive upgrades across all three layers - execution (EVM 2.0 with SNARK-friendly instruction sets), data (blobs 2.0 with DAS and post-quantum cryptography), and consensus (beacon chain 2.0 with fast finality) – unified by hash-based cryptography as the foundational building block. If successful, the roadmap could position Ethereum as the dominant "internet of value" and settlement layer, capable of enterprise-scale throughput while preserving the security and decentralization properties that distinguish it from other Layer 1 networks.