Key takeaways
- The Ethereum Foundation prioritizes security over speed, aiming for provable 128-bit security by the end of 2026.
- A three-step roadmap has been defined, requiring zkEVM teams to use official tools and respect progressive security thresholds.
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The Ethereum Foundation is moving from performance to security, setting a provable security goal of 128 bits for L1 zkEVMs by the end of 2026. It requires participating zkEVM teams to adopt a standardized security measurement tool and has established a three-phase roadmap to achieve this goal.
The first phase focuses on a unified security assessment in early 2026. The second phase targets provable security of at least 100 bits by mid-2026, along with defined proof size limits. The final phase requires fully provable 128-bit security with smaller proofs and formal robustness arguments by the end of 2026.
With recent cryptographic advances making these goals achievable, the authors emphasize that stabilization of zkEVM architectures is now essential to enable formal verification and long-term security, marking a transition from performance experimentation to fundamental robustness.
