The Ethereum Basis has introduced a step-by-step plan to allow Ethereum’s most important chain to confirm blocks utilizing zkEVM proofs, lowering the necessity for validators to re-run all calculations themselves. The proposal, shared by Ethereum Basis co-executive director Tomasz Okay. Stańczak by way of
zkEVM in L1 – Planning https://t.co/KLz7PoH6q9
— Tomasz Okay. Stańczak (@tkstanczak) January 15, 2026
Ethereum L1 strikes in the direction of zk proof-based verification.
Already in July final 12 months, the Ethereum Basis introduced its “zk-first” method. Right this moment, validators on Ethereum sometimes confirm blocks by re-running transactions and evaluating the outcomes. This plan proposes another. Validators can confirm cryptographic proof that block execution is appropriate.
This doc summarizes the meant pipeline normally phrases. The execution shopper creates a small “witness” package deal for the block, the standardized zkEVM program makes use of that package deal to generate a proof of appropriate execution, and the consensus shopper verifies that proof throughout block verification.
The primary milestone is to create an “ExecutionWitness”, a block-specific information construction that comprises the data wanted to confirm execution with out re-executing it. The plan requires a proper witness format for Ethereum’s implementation specs, conformance testing, and standardized RPC endpoints. The present debug_executionWitness endpoint is already “in manufacturing use in Kona on Optimism,” he notes, suggesting {that a} extra zk-friendly endpoint could also be wanted.
A key dependency is including higher monitoring of what elements of state a block touches by way of the block-level entry record (BAL). Based on the documentation, as of November 2025, this work has not been handled as pressing sufficient to be backported to the earlier fork.
The following milestone is “zkEVM Visitor Program”. That is defined by stateless verification logic, which checks whether or not a block produces a sound state transition when mixed with a witness. The plan emphasizes reproducible builds and compilation to standardized objectives so assumptions are clear and testable.
Along with Ethereum-specific code, the plan goals to standardize the interface between zkVM and visitor applications, together with widespread targets, widespread methods to entry precompilation and I/O, and agreed-upon assumptions about how applications needs to be loaded and executed.
On the consensus aspect, the roadmap requires modifications to permit consensus shoppers to simply accept zk proofs as a part of beacon block verification, together with specs, take a look at vectors, and inside rollout plans. The paper additionally highlights the significance of executable payload availability, together with the “put-a-block-in-a-blob” method.
The proposal treats proof era as an operational downside as a lot as a protocol downside. It consists of milestones for integrating zkVM into EF instruments reminiscent of Ethproofs and Ere, testing GPU settings (together with “zkboost”), and monitoring stability and bottlenecks.
Benchmarking consists of ongoing work with specific objectives reminiscent of measuring witness era time, proof era and verification occasions, and the community affect of proof propagation. These measurements could also be factored into proposed future gasoline value changes for zk-heavy workloads.
Safety can also be marked as persistent by means of planning for formal specs, monitoring, provide chain controls reminiscent of reproducible builds and artifact signatures, and documented belief and risk fashions. This paper proposes a “go/no-go framework” for figuring out when a proof system is mature sufficient for wider use.
One exterior dependency stands out. ePBS, which the doc explains is important to present attestors extra time. With out it, the plan states that provers may have “one to 2 seconds” to generate a proof. “6 to 9 seconds.” The doc is framed with two sentences that seize the urgency: “This isn’t a mission we’re engaged on, however it’s an optimization we’d like.” ePBS is predicted to be deployed in Glamsterdam by mid-2026.
If these milestones are achieved, Ethereum will transfer in the direction of proof-based verification as a viable possibility for L1, whereas the timing and operational complexity of proofs will stay gating components.
At press time, ETH was buying and selling at $3,300.
Featured picture created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
