2026 will be a turning point for Ethereum's ZK scaling, with the verification mechanism undergoing a merge-like transformation.

researchers and developers expect 2026 to be a key year for Ethereum to achieve exponential scaling based on zero-knowledge proofs (ZK). At that time, some Ethereum validators will no longer re-execute transactions but will directly verify ZK proofs, fundamentally changing the way the blockchain operates, with a scale comparable to Ethereum's 2022 transition from PoW to PoS known as "The Merge."Ethereum researcher Justin Drake stated that the first batch of validators will begin verifying the ZK proof of each block instead of re-executing all transactions, which will bring immediate scaling effects to Layer 1 and lay the foundation for 10,000 TPS in the future. Currently, the Ethereum mainnet throughput is about 30 TPS. During Devconnect, Drake demonstrated that ZK proof verification can be completed using an old laptop, and it is expected that by the end of 2026, about 10% of validators will switch to ZK verification mode (Lean Execution Phase 1). This shift will significantly reduce hardware requirements for validator nodes while maintaining network decentralization.Ethereum Besu client engineer Gary Schulte pointed out that in the future, computationally intensive tasks will mainly be undertaken by block builders and ZK provers, while ordinary validators will only need to perform lightweight verification, creating conditions for increasing the gas limit and overall throughput. In the roadmap, Ethereum is currently still in Phase 0 (voluntary validation), expected to enter Phase 1 (partial validator switch) in 2026, and move into Phase 2 in 2027, which will mandate block producers to generate ZK proofs, achieving full ZK execution.