Vitalik Outlines Ethereum's 'Lean' Overhaul: 3-4 Year Rebuild to Cut Fees Over Tenfold for Simple Apps

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined "Lean Ethereum," a three-to-four-year network redesign comparable in scale to the Merge. The plan would overhaul transaction validation, cryptography, block finality, and data storage without breaking existing applications.

A redesigned data-storage tier is the most disruptive change. For simpler applications, the shift could reduce fees by more than tenfold, with migration optional but financially attractive. Complex systems such as Uniswap would remain on the current architecture, avoiding forced rewrites. By 2030, Ethereum would support roughly 2 terabytes of traditional state alongside up to 100 terabytes of optimized format. Buterin also elevated quantum resistance and privacy to top priorities, stating privacy "is no longer an afterthought; it is a first-class goal."