Ethereum Consensus Layer Welcomes Major Upgrade: Beam Chain Will Bring Five Major Changes

Ethereum has been continuously evolving from its inception with Proof of Work (PoW) to its successful transition to Proof of Stake (PoS) in 2021. However, core researchers believe that the current Beacon Chain design has not fully utilized cutting-edge technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs, and the consensus layer of Ethereum urgently needs a major update.

At the recent developer conference, a proposal called "Beam Chain" attracted widespread attention. This proposal aims to fundamentally reform the Consensus layer of Ethereum and is an important part of Ethereum's long-term development blueprint. The Beam Chain plans to leverage the latest breakthroughs in zero-knowledge cryptography to significantly enhance the network's scalability and performance without the need to launch 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 brand new blockchain, but a new infrastructure built within the Ethereum mainnet. It will significantly improve transaction speed, security, and efficiency of the layer one network. There is a viewpoint that misinterprets Beam Chain as Ethereum 3.0; in reality, it only focuses on solving consensus layer issues and will not change the data layer or execution layer.

The five core transformations brought by Beam Chain include:

1. Faster block confirmation: Achieve 4 seconds slot time and single slot finality
2. Maintain Decentralization: Keep or improve the current level of decentralization
3. Lowering the staking threshold: Reducing the ETH staking requirement from 32 ETH to 1 ETH
4. Protect Ordinary Users: Eliminate MEV Based on Block Reorganization
5. Looking to the Future: Providing Quantum Resistance for the Ethereum Network

Upgrade Ideas and Principles of Beam Chain

1. Increase block production

The Beam Chain plans to triple the current block production rate to enhance Ethereum's transaction processing capability. At the same time, it introduces the FOCIL (Fork Choice Mandatory Inclusion List) mechanism to strengthen censorship resistance, ensuring that transactions are not easily excluded by malicious actors.

Validators will adopt an execution auction method for isolation, which not only ensures stronger performance and decentralization but also allows more users to avoid the impact of MEV. In addition, Ethereum will achieve single-slot finality and a 4-second block time, greatly accelerating transaction confirmation speed and improving network efficiency.

It is worth noting that this reform will eliminate the need for exchanges to wait for multiple block confirmations, as a single block will suffice for confirmation in the future.

2. Improve the staking mechanism

Beam Chain will adjust the reward issuance model for validators to increase staking yields. More importantly, the staking requirement for independent validators will be reduced from the current 32 ETH to only 1 ETH, significantly lowering the participation threshold and making independent staking more accessible.

This breakthrough is attributed to the application of zero-knowledge technology, which allows Ethereum to accommodate more nodes participating in consensus while improving speed, and without significantly increasing hardware requirements, effectively breaking through the impossible triangle of staking.

3. Enhance Security

Beam Chain will introduce post-quantum cryptography to ensure that the network can withstand potential threats from future quantum computing, making it a pioneer in adopting quantum-resistant measures among mainstream blockchains.

Zero-knowledge proof technologies (such as zkSNARK and zkVM) will be deeply integrated with Ethereum, further enhancing privacy protection, scalability, and security. Ethereum will also leverage the RISC-V architecture to achieve SNARKification of the blockchain, improving the efficiency and scalability of proof generation.

In short, these measures will enable the entire Ethereum network to achieve ZKification. In addition, Beam Chain will also introduce a more robust randomness mechanism to ensure the fairness of key network processes such as validator selection, and minimize the risk of malicious behaviors like sandwich attacks through improved censorship resistance.

4. How it works

Since the design of the current consensus layer of Ethereum was determined, cryptographers have made significant progress 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 transaction experience of Ethereum's layer one network but also reduces potential value extraction by eliminating remote block reorganization strategies, thereby lowering the technical debt of the consensus layer.

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

• Utilize sharding technology to accelerate processing speed by splitting data into smaller parts to process multiple transactions simultaneously, thereby reducing transaction bottlenecks.
• Utilizing advanced encryption technology to ensure that network security can withstand potential threats from future quantum computers.
• Closely integrated with Ethereum's existing roadmap, serving as a key phase for enhancing network scalability and security over the next 5 years.

5. Important Significance

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

The SNARK-based proof system allows stakers with ordinary hardware configurations to achieve the aforementioned performance advantages. When the staking threshold is lowered to 1 ETH, not only does the network performance improve, but the decentralization of the Ethereum staking community will also be significantly enhanced.

Although the vision of Beam Chain will not immediately change Ethereum, it will adjust the priority of the roadmap development, accelerating the development of certain key components. If sufficient community support is obtained, developers may start drafting specific specifications next year, followed by writing production-level code in 2026, testing in 2027, and ultimately safely deploying on the Ethereum mainnet.

Overall, Beam Chain has solved the past "technical debt" through a ZK-based approach, significantly improving the layer one network capabilities while maintaining the high decentralization of Ethereum. The newly introduced long-term solutions, such as quantum resistance, will put Ethereum's consensus layer into a "maintenance mode," ensuring that the network remains secure, efficient, and adaptable for decades to come, laying the groundwork for future innovations without the need for disruptive redesigns.

Ethereum is continuously making long-term plans, which is exciting news for the entire blockchain industry. This also provides a solid foundation for us to maintain an optimistic attitude towards Ethereum in the currently active market environment.