The Possible Future of the Ethereum Protocol (6): Prosperity

The prosperity phase involves many hard-to-categorize detailed improvements that are crucial for the success of Ethereum. About half of the content pertains to different types of EVM improvements, while the remaining part consists of various niche topics.

Key Objectives of the Prosperity Stage

• Develop the EVM into a high-performance and stable "final state"
• Introduce account abstraction at the protocol layer to provide all users with a safer and more convenient account experience.
• Optimize the trading fee economic model, enhance scalability, and reduce risks.
• Explore advanced cryptographic technologies to pave the way for significant long-term improvements for Ethereum.

EVM Improvement

The first step in the current EVM improvement roadmap is the EVM object format (EOF). EOF specifies a new version of EVM code with multiple features:

• Separation of code and data
• Only static jumps are allowed
• EVM code cannot observe fuel-related information
• Added explicit subroutine mechanism

After EOF, the EVM module can further introduce arithmetic extensions ( EVM-MAX ) and Single Instruction Multiple Data ( SIMD ) functions. These improvements will significantly enhance EVM performance, especially in cryptographic computations.

Account Abstraction

Account abstraction aims to allow smart contracts to initiate transactions, not just limited to external accounts. The ERC-4337 standard achieves this goal, but further development is needed for full integration into the protocol layer.

The EIP-7701 proposal is based on EOF to achieve account abstraction. It allows accounts to have a separate verification code section that is executed during the transaction validation step. This approach treats account abstraction as a new type of EOA, whose signing algorithm is EVM code execution.

EIP-1559 Improvement

EIP-1559 has significantly improved the average block inclusion time, but there are still some imperfections. Multi-dimensional Gas is a solution that sets different prices and limits for different resources. EIP-7706 introduces a new Gas dimension for calldata while simplifying the multi-dimensional Gas mechanism.

Verifiable Delay Function ( VDFs )

VDF is a function that can only be computed sequentially, and can be used as a more robust source of randomness. It can solve the "1-bit manipulation" problem that each proposer has in the current RANDAO randomness mechanism. However, a VDF construction that fully meets the needs of Ethereum has not yet been found.

Advanced Cryptography

Three powerful cryptographic primitives are expected to greatly enhance the capabilities of Ethereum in the future:

1. ZK-SNARKs: have become the cornerstone of Ethereum's scalability and privacy strategies.
2. Fully Homomorphic Encryption ( FHE ): Allows arbitrary computation on encrypted data without viewing the data.
3. Indistinguishable confusion: "Cryptographic programs" can be created to perform arbitrary computations while hiding internal details.

These technologies, combined with quantum one-time signatures, are expected to achieve nearly perfect trustless third parties. They can provide strong security and privacy protection for applications such as voting and support more powerful decentralized applications.

However, these advanced cryptographic technologies still require substantial research and development to become practical. Indistinguishable obfuscation and quantum computers are not yet mature, but they may fundamentally change the game in the future.