The Ethereum Foundation has announced a shift towards prioritising the mainnet’s development and user experience. The new direction, led by co-directors, outlines three key areas: enhancing performance, keeping layer 2 blockchains affordable, and improving interoperability. Meanwhile, plans for a delayed upgrade reflect a commitment to user impact and responsiveness to critic concerns in the DeFi landscape.
The Ethereum Foundation is shifting focus back to its core mainnet, as highlighted in a recent update from its new co-directors. This non-profit organisation, pivotal in Ethereum’s development, emphasises three key priorities for the upcoming year. These include enhancing Ethereum’s performance, maintaining affordability for layer 2 blockchains, and significantly improving the overall user experience.
Traditionally, the route to achieving mass adoption revolved around layer 2 solutions, often seen as the quickest and cheapest options for transactions. In the past, Ethereum’s mainnet was designed as a premium experience—reliable yet slower and more expensive. As it stands, rolling out layer 2 solutions effectively addressed speed and cost concerns, but recent discontent from some critics highlights a perception that focus has strayed towards theoretical research instead of tangible improvement.
Responding to this criticism, co-director Tomasz Stańczak stated that the foundation will emphasise accountability and clear metrics moving forward. The vision is to unify the entire blockchain ecosystem, ensuring a consistent user experience and smooth interoperability across different chains.
In line with this, Ethereum developers scrapped an upcoming upgrade meant for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) due to concerns about its necessity. Often called EVM Object Format, this upgrade aimed at enhancing developer experience but faced complications and questions about its impact on end-users. Ultimately, a consensus was reached during a recent Zoom call to delay its inclusion in the Fusaka upgrade scheduled for late 2025.
This decision is being viewed as a significant turning point for Ethereum, with Storm Slivkoff of venture capital firm Paradigm calling it a “MASSIVE milestone”. It represents Ethereum’s commitment to prioritising user impact moving forward.
In parallel, notable discussions within decentralized finance (DeFi) governance are heating up as various DAOs such as Frax and Uniswap move to enhance their member engagement and regulatory compliance. This underscores the vibrant and often tumultuous landscape of DeFi, where decisions are made rapidly in response to market dynamics.
For example, Coinbase’s Base blockchain has faced criticism for its involvement with memecoins, yet some argue this is simply catering to current market sentiments, reflecting a broader trend among platforms trying to keep up with user demand.
The Ethereum Foundation’s renewed focus could signify a more user-centric evolution just when it is most needed in the fast-paced blockchain ecosystem. As community engagement strengthens, users and stakeholders are eagerly watching what steps come next for both the mainnet and the entirety of Ethereum’s reach beyond its traditional confines.
