Ethereum details post-quantum, L1 privacy plan in ‘Strawmap’

• Lyla Velez
• February 26, 2026
• News
• 0 Comments

Key Points:

• Strawmap elevates L1-native features beyond apps and L2s for core functionality.
• Introduces native private ETH, post-quantum cryptography, and faster finality, reducing settlement risk.
• Targets ~10M TPS via enshrined ZK verification; anticipates compliance scrutiny for privacy.

The Ethereum Foundation’s newly published Strawmap roadmap sets a coordinated path for core protocol work through 2029, spanning privacy, post-quantum security, and scalability. It is framed as a planning and coordination artifact rather than a binding schedule, as reported by CryptoBriefing.

According to Blockonomi, Foundation researcher Justin Drake released the Strawmap outlining seven protocol forks and five long-term technical goals. The document consolidates previously separate streams into a single view for developers, validators, and users.

Strawmap matters because it elevates L1-native capabilities that have mostly lived at app or L2 layers. These include native private ETH transfers, post-quantum cryptography, and speed-ups to finality that reduce settlement risk.

Targets are ambitious but conditional. The roadmap aims at roughly ten million transactions per second via enshrined zero-knowledge verification and throughput upgrades, as reported by Crypto-Economy. Native privacy at L1 could invite compliance scrutiny, requiring careful audits and potential selective-disclosure designs, as noted by Siam Blockchain.

Post-quantum security: goals, migration plans, user impact

Post-quantum security centers on mitigating risks to elliptic-curve signatures used across wallets and validators. Migration paths under discussion include hard-forked recovery schemes and adoption of post-quantum signature systems.

The risk framing has been public for years; Vitalik Buterin has cautioned that sufficiently powerful quantum computers could undermine ECDSA, warranting proactive planning, as reported by CCN. The roadmap places this work alongside UX so key rotation and recovery can occur without avoidable user loss.

“We are about ‘20% of the way toward quantum resilience’ as of January 2026,” said Antonio Sanso, cryptography researcher at the Ethereum Foundation. That estimate underscores ongoing testing and the multi-layer scope of the work.

User impact will likely be staged. Wallets may need to support PQ-safe keys, graceful migrations, and clear disclosures so signers understand when funds must be moved or credentials rotated.

Scalability and finality: Fast L1 and enshrined ZK

Fast L1 aims to compress finality from minutes to seconds, lowering reorg risk for exchanges and institutions. Designs under discussion include single-slot or near-single-slot finality aligned with consensus timing.

Enshrined ZK would let the base layer verify succinct proofs of execution, reducing verification costs while preserving safety. In practice, that could make L2 rollups cheaper and L1 validation more efficient.

Engineering trade-offs are unavoidable. Pushing throughput and finality can raise hardware requirements and centralization pressure, and cryptographic changes must preserve soundness, as discussed by researchers on arXiv.

At the time of writing, ETH traded near $2,060 with 14.97% recent volatility and an RSI around 31. These figures are provided for context and do not imply performance expectations.