In a highly anticipated presentation at the Ethereum Devcon conference in Bangkok, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake unveiled his proposal for a major redesign of the network’s consensus layer, dubbed the “Beam Chain.” The reveal, which took place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, drew a packed audience, with onlookers spilling out into the hallway outside the main stage.
What is the Beam Chain?
The Beam Chain is a proposed redesign of Ethereum’s consensus layer, incorporating the latest ideas and improvements from the network’s roadmap. According to Drake, the Beam Chain will focus on the Beacon Chain, the part of the network responsible for processing and recording transactions, which has remained largely unchanged since its specification was frozen five years ago.
Drake emphasized that in the years since the Beacon Chain’s inception, the Ethereum development community has gained a much better understanding of how to adapt to maximal extractable value (MEV), strategies employed by sophisticated traders to extract additional profits from the network, sometimes at the expense of regular users. Additionally, significant breakthroughs in zero-knowledge technology have emerged, and the Ethereum blockchain has accumulated “technical debt” that hinders developers’ ability to develop the chain quickly and securely.
Faster Slots and Finality
One of the primary focus areas for the Beam Chain will be increasing the frequency of block production and the number of transactions included per block. This could involve the introduction of single slot finality, where transaction data in blocks is finalized immediately, making the information permanent and unalterable once added to the blockchain.
Currently, block finalization on Ethereum takes approximately 15 minutes. By reducing finalization time, the process would become more efficient for applications and exchanges with high transaction throughput. The 15-minute delay creates opportunities for MEV extraction and increases the risk of reorgs.
However, faster finalization times raise concerns about centralization, as they require more computing power and expensive hardware. Developers will need to strike a balance between shorter finalization times and the required computing power.
Integration of Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Another significant aspect of the Beam Chain proposal is the deeper integration of zero-knowledge cryptography into the core of Ethereum’s base network. In recent years, Ethereum developers have embraced a roadmap involving layer-2 rollups, auxiliary blockchains built atop Ethereum that enable faster and cheaper transaction execution before settling back down to the base chain.
Many of these rollups have adopted zero-knowledge proof technology to aid in blockchain scaling. Dozens of ZK rollups, such as Polygon’s zkEVM and Matter Labs’ zkSync, have emerged, driving significant attention and development to these new blockchains.
With Drake’s Beam Chain proposal, support for zero-knowledge proofs will be built directly into the main Ethereum layer-1 chain. This raises questions about the potential implications for the rapidly growing field of ZK-powered layer-2 networks.
A Comprehensive Upgrade
While the Beam Chain represents an ambitious upgrade, Drake emphasized that it focuses solely on the consensus chain, and ongoing research is still being conducted on Ethereum’s execution and data layers—the other core elements of the network that support applications and layer-2 data.
Drake’s Beam Chain vision organizes a series of “big ticket” upgrades to Ethereum’s consensus layer into a single package. The proposal suggests continuing incremental upgrades to the chain each year to address “low-hanging fruit” while tackling significant changes in one fell swoop a few years down the line.
The Beam Chain is only about the consensus chain.
– Justin Drake, Ethereum Foundation researcher
The Beam Chain won’t entail any immediate changes to Ethereum or introduce radical departures from the existing roadmap. However, it does propose a major shift in how future Ethereum upgrades are organized and implemented.
Community Excitement and Anticipation
Drake’s presentation was highly anticipated, following months of speculation online and in crypto forums that the influential researcher, who played a key role in the 2022 Merge upgrade, was working on something significant.
The Ethereum community has been eagerly awaiting a new, unifying technical vision since the Merge, which marked the network’s transition to a more eco-friendly proof-of-stake consensus mechanism over two years ago. While developers have implemented upgrades to facilitate the growth of fast and inexpensive layer-2 blockchains, the core of the Ethereum blockchain has remained largely unchanged.
With the unveiling of the Beam Chain, the Ethereum community may once again rally behind a comprehensive upgrade that promises to bring major improvements and new capabilities to the network. As the proposal gains traction and undergoes further refinement, developers, users, and stakeholders will be closely monitoring its progress and potential impact on the future of Ethereum and the broader blockchain ecosystem.
