Ethereum advances toward censorship-resistant scaling with zkEVM layer-1 shift
Ethereum is advancing its long-term scalability strategy with a substantial technical shift to integrate the zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) into the layer-1 blockchain.
On July 10, Sophia Gold, an Ethereum Foundation developer, stated that the foundation aims to ship the L1 zkEVM within a year, marking a critical evolution in Ethereum’s pursuit of efficient, censorship-resistant scaling.
Zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography allows claims to be verified without revealing the underlying data. This cryptographic method has already seen widespread adoption across Ethereum Layer 2 solutions. Now, EF is preparing to bring zkEVM capabilities to the core of the Ethereum chain itself.
Gold explained that the foundation is building toward a design where validators can choose to verify zk-proofs instead of re-executing blocks. This approach involves verifying multiple zk-proofs generated by separate zkVMs, each representing different EVM implementations.
Gold expressed confidence that L1 zkEVM could be live before Devconnect Argentina in November, citing rapid advancements in proving efficiency and hardware design.
‘Real-time proving’
A major goal for the upcoming zkEVM rollout is enabling “real-time proving,” a process in which block validation happens within the network’s 12-second slot time.
The zkEVM team defines real-time proving as the ability to generate and verify proofs for 99% of mainnet blocks within 10 seconds, with outliers handled in future hard forks.
Critically, the foundation wants to make this process accessible to solo stakers by supporting “home proving.” The idea is to allow individuals running validators from their homes or offices to participate in zk-proof generation without relying on expensive or centralized infrastructure.
The EF has established clear technical benchmarks to achieve this goal. These include proof latency under 10 seconds, capital expenditure no greater than $100,000, power consumption under 10kW, and proof sizes under 300KiB.
Additionally, all code will be open source, and the system must meet a minimum security level of 128 bits.
Ecosystem development
The Ethereum Foundation has launched a new Ecosystem Development (EcoDev) team in parallel with its technical roadmap. The initiative is designed to enhance accessibility and drive broader adoption across the network.
The EcoDev team will focus on four key areas, including growing the developer community, improving relationships with application builders and enterprises, supporting research, and enabling founders’ success.
The team would focus on providing grants, funding programs, and a dedicated launchpad for early-stage projects.
According to the EF, the ultimate goal is to grow Ethereum’s user base and strengthen its technical resilience and social infrastructure.
The post Ethereum advances toward censorship-resistant scaling with zkEVM layer-1 shift appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Fear is the biggest short! Morgan Stanley calls for bottom-fishing in semiconductors: land and electricity shortages are not a problem, approved projects can't meet demand
Morgan Stanley believes that the recent sell-off in the semiconductor sector has been excessive, and that market panic rather than fundamentals is the biggest risk. Driven by demand for AI infrastructure, downstream orders continue to accelerate, with semiconductor supply remaining the core bottleneck. LPS constraints actually make growth more stable. The sector may fluctuate within a range in the short term and is currently near the bottom; prospects for the computing power and storage subsectors are favorable.

Indian Rupee extends rally amid continued FIIs buying, lower oil prices

Hashrate orders are booming, why is "AI trading" falling out of favor? JPMorgan reveals the time lag between AI investment and productivity realization
Joseph Lupton from the JP Morgan Global Economic Research Team pointed out in a research report on November 10 that recent improvements in labor productivity have been driven more by capital deepening and increased intensity of factor utilization. The broad efficiency gains from AI, resulting from process reconstruction, data integration, and organizational adjustments, will still take time to materialize. This means orders for chips, servers, and electrical equipment may grow first, but continuous investment returns for computing power operators and end users may not arrive at the same pace.
AI investment enters the "Trough of Disillusionment", the next 18 months will be a life-or-death test!
Goldman Sachs believes that the AI investment cycle is currently in the "trough of disillusionment," but this is not the first time. The core contradiction lies in the fact that the business models of new cloud computing providers are highly dependent on end-user returns from AI spending, while currently "there are basically zero companies that can attribute profits to AI." Social Capital founder Palihapitiya has clearly defined an 18-month key window, during which the market will decide which AI business models are sustainable and which are not.

