Ethereum Consensus Layer Receives Major Upgrade: Five Transformations of Beam Chain

Ethereum started with PoW (Proof of Work) and successfully transitioned to PoS (Proof of Stake) in 2021. However, a core researcher from the Ethereum Foundation believes that, despite the initial good performance of the Beacon Chain, some "technical debt" has accumulated over the past five years, and its design has not fully leveraged cutting-edge technologies in decentralized systems, such as zero-knowledge proofs. Therefore, a significant update to Ethereum's consensus layer is urgently needed.

Recently at the Devcon conference in Bangkok, an Ethereum researcher proposed a project called "Beam Chain" aimed at fundamentally reforming the Ethereum consensus layer. This is an important part of Ethereum's long-term development plan, with the goal of significantly enhancing the network's scalability and performance by leveraging the current breakthroughs in ZK cryptography, without launching a new network. Undoubtedly, this will become one of the most critical upgrades for Ethereum in the next 3-5 years.

It is important to clarify that Beam Chain is not a new blockchain in the literal sense, but a new infrastructure built within the Ethereum mainnet, aimed at significantly improving the transaction speed, security, and efficiency of the L1 mainnet. Interpreting Beam Chain as Ethereum 3.0 is inaccurate, as it primarily addresses consensus layer issues without involving changes to the data layer (such as blob channels) or the execution layer (such as the Ethereum Virtual Machine EVM).

The five core transformations of Beam Chain include:

1. Faster block confirmation: Achieving 4-second slot time and single-slot finality
2. Maintain Decentralization: Sustain or improve the current level of decentralization.
3. Lower the staking threshold: Reduce the ETH staking requirement from 32 ETH to 1 ETH
4. Protect ordinary users: Eliminate MEV based on blockchain reorganization
5. Looking to the Future: Providing Quantum Resistance for the Ethereum Network

Upgrade Ideas and Principles of Beam Chain

1. Increase block production

• Increase throughput: Beam Chain will increase the block production volume to three times the current level to enhance Ethereum's transaction processing capacity.
• Enhance censorship resistance: Introduce FOCIL (Fork Choice Mandatory Inclusion List) mechanism to ensure that transactions are not easily excluded by malicious actors.
• Execution of auctions and validator isolation: Achieve validator isolation through the execution of auctions, enhancing performance and decentralization while reducing the risk of users being affected by MEV.
• Accelerate transaction confirmation: Achieve single-slot finality and 4-second block time, significantly improving transaction confirmation speed and network efficiency.

It is worth noting that this upgrade will allow the exchange to complete confirmations with a single block, without having to wait for multiple block confirmations.

2. Improve the staking mechanism

• Optimize the reward model: Adjust the validator reward issuance model to increase staking returns.
• Significantly lower staking threshold: The staking requirement for independent validators has been reduced from 32 ETH to 1 ETH, making independent staking more accessible and convenient.

This breakthrough is attributed to the application of ZK technology, which allows Ethereum to increase its speed while accommodating more nodes to participate in consensus, without significantly raising hardware requirements, achieving a major breakthrough in the staking mechanism.

3. Enhance Security

• Introduction of post-quantum cryptography: Implementing quantum-resistant cryptographic technology to protect networks from future quantum computing threats, pioneering mainstream blockchain's resistance to quantum attacks.
• Integrating zkSNARK and zkVM: Deeply integrating zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) technology with Ethereum through zkSNARK and zkVM to comprehensively enhance privacy protection, scalability, and security.
• SNARK-enabled blockchain: Utilizing RISC-V technology to achieve SNARKification of the blockchain, significantly improving the efficiency and scalability of proof generation.
• Enhanced Randomness: Introduce a more robust randomness mechanism to ensure the fairness of key network processes, such as validator selection.
• Reduce MEV risk: Effectively reduce automated arbitrage behaviors such as sandwich attacks by enhancing review resistance.

In short, this upgrade can be summarized as: achieving the comprehensive ZKification of Ethereum.

4. Working Principle

Since the design of the existing consensus layer (Beacon Chain) of Ethereum was determined, cryptographers have made significant breakthroughs in the field of SNARKs. By SNARKifying Ethereum's state transition function, a 4-second slot time and single-slot finality can be achieved. This not only significantly improves the L1 transaction experience and reduces waiting times, but also lowers MEV risks by eliminating remote block reorganization strategies, while reducing the technical debt of the consensus layer.

In addition, SNARKification will grant the Ethereum network quantum resistance, which is an essential feature for future blockchains.

Beam Chain will promote the upgrade of Ethereum from the following aspects:

• Utilizing sharding technology to improve processing speed: By splitting data into smaller fragments (shards) to process multiple transactions in parallel, effectively alleviating transaction bottlenecks and accelerating transaction speed.
• Achieve security against quantum computing: Utilize cutting-edge encryption technology to ensure network security is not threatened by future super quantum computers.
• Deep integration with Ethereum's development roadmap: Beam Chain is an important component of Ethereum's expansion and security enhancement plan for the next 5 years, rather than an independent network.

5. Important significance

Beam Chain is crucial for enhancing Ethereum's ability to handle increasingly complex decentralized applications. It will significantly improve the network's scalability, reduce transaction costs, and enhance overall security, enabling Ethereum to support more users and complex applications in the long term.

Another major advantage of the SNARK-based proof system is that ordinary stakers can achieve the above performance improvements using standard hardware. As the staking threshold decreases from 32 ETH to 1 ETH, the level of decentralization among Ethereum stakers will further increase.

In particular, the significant reduction in the staking threshold, combined with the popularity of home-grade validator devices such as eNode, is expected to further consolidate Ethereum's position as the public chain with the most nodes and the highest degree of decentralization in the world.

Although the vision of Beam Chain will not immediately change Ethereum, nor will it significantly alter its long-term development path, it will readjust the priority of the roadmap development and accelerate the progress of certain key components. For instance, some important upgrades that were originally planned for implementation in 2029 may be realized earlier.

If Beam Chain receives sufficient community support, the development team may start drafting specific specifications next year, followed by the client development team writing production-level code in 2026, conducting comprehensive testing in 2027, and ultimately deploying securely on the Ethereum mainnet. Although the implementation of Beam Chain seems distant, these security redundancies are indispensable for an open-source software developed in a decentralized manner.

Overall, Beam Chain, through the ZK route, is expected to significantly enhance its L1 capabilities while maintaining Ethereum's "world-class decentralization" advantage, effectively addressing the "technical debt" accumulated in the past. At the same time, the introduction of long-term solutions such as quantum resistance will place Ethereum's consensus layer in a "maintenance mode," ensuring its security, efficiency, and adaptability for decades to come, laying the foundation for future innovations without the need for disruptive redesign.

Ethereum continues to make long-term plans, which is an exciting development for the entire blockchain industry. This also provides a solid foundation for us to maintain an optimistic attitude towards Ethereum in the current vibrant market environment.