Ethereum Foundation 2026 Shift: zkEVM Security Upgrade, 128-bit Encryption Becomes the New Baseline

【Blockchain Rhythm】The Ethereum Foundation has just announced an important adjustment—by 2026, the focus will shift from pursuing scalability speed to strengthening security defenses. Specifically, they have set a hard requirement: all zkEVM solutions must achieve 128-bit cryptographic security strength.

Sounds a bit strict? Indeed. Over the past year, zkEVM has made good progress in performance optimization, but issues have also emerged—some technical solutions are actually based on mathematical assumptions that have not been fully validated. Theoretically, this leaves potential vulnerabilities for on-chain state tampering.

Therefore, the foundation has decided to hit the brakes. Future efforts will focus on formal verification, attack resistance upgrades, and cryptographic security reinforcement. The foundation will also provide dedicated security review and assessment tools to help projects align with these new standards.

This adjustment will undoubtedly impact the progress of some scalability projects, and speed may be somewhat compromised. But the foundation’s logic is clear: rather than rushing for speed and risking endless problems, it’s better to solidify security first and then optimize performance. They believe that, in terms of institutional funding and high-value applications, attack resistance and trustworthiness are the most critical assets.