As Ethereum deploys Pectra, it faces stiff competition and community criticism. Ethereum Foundation Research co-leads Alex Stokes and Barnabe Monnot map out the chain’s direction.
Ethereum is well on its way to some major upgrades, with Pectra and Fusaka introducing a number of performance improvements in the near future. But will it be enough to stay ahead of the competition?
Ethereum Foundation Research co-leads Alex Stokes and Barnabe Monnot join the show to discuss:
- How Pectra and Fusaka will improve Ethereum’s performance
- What it means that its launch on two testnets failed
- Ethereum’s “north star” — decentralization
- Whether Ethereum can retain its top spot in the smart contract space
- As Ethereum adopts native rollups and data availability, does it create competition with existing L2s and DA providers?
- The new direction for the Ethereum Foundation leaders and whether Etherealize can bring Wall Street
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Guest:
- Alex Stokes, Co-Lead, Ethereum Foundation Research
- Barnabe Monnot, Co-Lead, Ethereum Foundation Research
- Previous appearances on Unchained:
- 5 Things to Know About Coinbase’s 2021
Links
- Previous coverage on Unchained of:
- Etherealize advocates for Ethereum
- Why Ethereum’s New Marketing Arm Is Convinced Wall Street Will Adopt ETH
- Ethereum Foundation contemplates comeback
- Ethereum Is Lagging. Here’s How It Could Finally Shake Off Rival Solana
- 2025 Will Be a Year of Crypto Competition. Can Ethereum Make a Comeback?
- What Ethena means for Ethereum
- Ethena’s L1 Shows Fat Apps Are on the Rise. Can They Beat Fat Protocols?
- The Chopping Block w/ Guy Young: Lessons from USD0, Ethena’s Bold Vision, and DeFi’s Future
- The Pectra Upgrade
- Ethereum.org: Pectra Testnet Announcement | Ethereum Foundation Blog
- tim.mirror.xyz: AllCoreDevs Update 17
- Ethereum.org: EIP-7691: Blob throughput increase
- Ethereum.org: Holesky and Hoodi Testnet Updates | Ethereum Foundation Blog
- Coindesk: Hello, Hoodi: Ethereum Welcomes a New Testnet
- Fusaka on the horizon
- Github: EIP-7805 proposed for Fusaka
- Native rollups versus non-native rollups
- Youtube: The Future of Ethereum Scaling: Native Rollups Explained
- Reddit: Native rollup debates
- L1 and L2 debates
- Vitalik.eth.limo: Reasons to have higher L1 gas limits even in an L2-heavy Ethereum
- Vitalik.eth.limo: Scaling Ethereum L1 and L2s in 2025 and beyond
- Ethereum Foundation Leadership changes
- X: Barnabe Monnot and Alex Stokes announcement
- X: New EF titles
- X: Fixing the Core Dev process
- Ethena’s Converge news
- John Wang’s tweet
- Camila Russo’s comment
Timestamps:
👋 0:00 Intro
🪝 2:05 How Barnabe and Alex got hooked on Ethereum development
⚙️ 6:37 How Pectra will change Ethereum
🪴 10:35 How does increasing blobs boost Ethereum?
🪲 13:22 Pectra fork bugs on Holeski testnet
🔮 18:38 What’s in the upcoming Fusaka upgrade?
🤯 22:42 How decisions get made in Ethereum and which groups are involved
📈 30:34 Can Ethereum keep up with the competition?
🏁 39:16 Can Ethereum compete by scaling the L1?
🤓 44:02 What are native roll-ups and how do they help Ethereum compete?
🤺 49:26 Native rollups and expanded data availability on Ethereum vs. non-native options
⚰️ 52:22 Is Ethena building its own blockchain the “nail in the coffin” for Ethereum?
👬 1:00:05 Shaking up the EF’s leadership
🤔 1:06:14 Will Etherealize fix Ethereum’s problems?
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