Vitalik Buterin is mapping out Ethereum’s most ambitious multi-year overhaul yet, and quantum computing is the reason it’s moving faster than anyone expected. The Ethereum co-founder revealed that quantum safety has “shifted up a LOT in priority,” reshaping the network’s upgrade roadmap in ways that will define the next half-decade of development.
At the center of this plan sits the Hegota hard fork, targeted for the second half of 2026. Buterin indicated it will likely be the last upgrade before Ethereum enters what he calls its “Lean” phase, a streamlined era focused on simplification and resilience against threats that don’t fully exist yet but are getting uncomfortably close.
The Strawmap: seven forks in four years
The broader transformation Buterin is describing goes by the name “Strawmap.” It’s essentially a sketch of approximately seven anticipated hard forks spanning from 2026 through 2030.
The three pillars of this plan are quantum resistance, statelessness through Verkle Trees, and operational simplification.
