Ethereum researcher Justin Drake has proposed a new design for Ethereum's consensus layer, suggesting a transition from the current Beacon Chain to a new "Beam Chain".
At the Devcon event in Bangkok, Thailand, Drake presented that the transition to the Beam Chain could bring Ethereum "closer to the final design" that the network is shaping.
Justin Drake presenting the Beam Chain proposal at the Devcon event in Bangkok, Thailand. Source: BitcoinNews
In the presentation, the Ethereum researcher tried to convince the audience that the redesign of the consensus layer might not be as absurd as it sounds. Drake said:
"I want to introduce an idea that sounds completely crazy and convince you that, in fact, it may not be that crazy and could be a reasonable proposal to completely redesign the consensus layer."
Drake said the Ethereum Beacon Chain is "quite old" and has been "frozen" for five years. "In those five years, a lot has changed," he added.
The researcher explained that the community now has a deeper understanding of concepts like Maximal Extractable Value (MEV), and the industry has developed mechanisms to mitigate this systemic issue for public blockchains.
Drake also explained that, technologically, succinct non-interactive knowledge arguments (zk-SNARKs) have become faster, and Ethereum Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machines (zkEVMs) have been introduced.
Reducing Staking Requirement from 32 to 1 ETH
Drake's roadmap for the consensus layer includes changes to block production, Staking, and Cryptology.
Justin Drake sharing a roadmap for the consensus layer at Devcon. Source: BitcoinNews
According to Drake, Ethereum researchers have agreed that the network's current issuance curve may be "problematic." Drake said this opens up opportunities to improve the blockchain's health and long-term outcomes by reducing the amount of Ether (ETH) required to become a validator.
"On the Staking side, there's an idea to significantly reduce the total amount of ETH required to become a validator from 32 down to just 1 ETH," Drake said.
While the researcher proposed the roadmap, he also clarified that this is just a proposal and not an official roadmap. "This is my proposal, and it will only progress if there is near-consensus to proceed," he explained.
ETH 3.0 is Not an "Appropriate" Nickname
Since Drake introduced his presentation on X, the community has speculated about the content of the proposal, with "ETH 3.0" appearing on social media. However, the researcher believes this name is not appropriate as it only refers to the consensus layer.
"In my personal opinion, the nickname Ethereum 3.0 is not appropriate. The reason is that the Beam chain only relates to the consensus layer. It's not the entire Layer 1, just the consensus layer," he explained.
