Ethereum Foundation Unveils zkEVM Standard and Restructures Ecosystem Strategy

On July 10, the Ethereum Foundation announced two initiatives in its roadmap: the release of a realtime L1 zkEVM proving standard and a reorganization of its Ecosystem Development (EcoDev) strategy. These efforts aim to support the growth of Ethereum’s infrastructure and community in response to rising interest from enterprises, institutions, and individual users.

Commenting on the zkEVM proving standard, Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, said, "I can’t say I understand all of the details here, but the Ethereum Foundation does seem to be proposing the right moves for scalability and privacy to maintain its lead in the institutional world."

A New Standard for Realtime zkEVM Proving

The newly released L1 zkEVM standard sets the stage for Ethereum’s long-term goal of integrating zero-knowledge proofs across the entire protocol stack, from execution to consensus. The Foundation aims to deliver a fully functioning Layer 1 zkEVM within a year. Although implementation remains complex, the roadmap is now clearer than ever.

The standard introduces strict technical benchmarks for zkVM systems. These include:

• 128-bit security

• Proof generation within 10 seconds for 99% of mainnet blocks

• Proof size under 300 kilobytes with no trusted setup

• Home-proving support with hardware costs under $100,000 and power consumption below 10kW

This upgrade transforms how validators interact with the network. Instead of re-executing full blocks, they will verify succinct zk-proofs. Block builders assemble transactions, provers generate validity proofs, and validators confirm them. This process significantly increases throughput while enhancing decentralization and protocol efficiency.

According to the Ethereum Foundation, this is more than a performance milestone. It represents a cultural shift, moving Ethereum toward a future that prioritizes privacy, censorship resistance, and scalability at the base layer. When combined with other improvements such as expanded blobspace for cheaper data availability, Ethereum is positioning itself as the most advanced and privacy-respecting Layer 1 blockchain.

Ethereum Foundation Restructures Ecosystem Strategy for Global Growth

In parallel with the technical upgrades, the Foundation also introduced a major reorganization of its Ecosystem Development (EcoDev) strategy to better serve the growing number of users, builders, and organizations engaging with Ethereum.

The revamped EcoDev initiative focuses on four pillars:

1. Ecosystem Acceleration: Four new teams will be established to drive adoption through enterprise relations, developer growth, application research, and founder support.

2. Ecosystem Amplification: New and existing teams will enhance Ethereum’s presence through content creation, targeted events, and AI-powered internal tooling.

3. Ecosystem Support: Continued financial and non-financial assistance for public goods, grants, and operational design.

4. Long-Term Ecosystem Unblocking: Ongoing work with policy makers, academic institutions, and public sector stakeholders to remove systemic barriers to Ethereum adoption.

This strategic realignment supports the Foundation’s dual goals: expanding Ethereum’s global user base and strengthening the resilience of its technical and social infrastructure.

As Ethereum grows, the Foundation affirms its commitment to support that growth alongside the broader ecosystem, working with organizations, developers, startups, and other key contributors. The Foundation emphasized, “We will continue to always ask: where do we need to step in to do what no one else can do today? And we will continue working to help others increase their impact on the ecosystem, so that the Ethereum ecosystem becomes more resilient over time.”

One Vision, Two Fronts

Together, these initiatives reflect Ethereum’s efforts to scale both its technical infrastructure and community engagement. As zk-proving technology introduces changes to consensus and execution, the updated ecosystem strategy aims to provide better support for users, developers, and institutions interacting with the network.

These developments mark a new phase for Ethereum, with increased focus on scalability, privacy, and resilience as core priorities for its continued evolution.