The Ethereum Foundation has outlined an ambitious roadmap for 2026, identifying faster transaction processing, more advanced smart wallets, improved cross-chain interoperability and quantum-resistant security as its core protocol priorities.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the foundation detailed plans to continue increasing the network’s gas limit — the cap on computational work per block — “toward and beyond” 100 million. The gas limit became a central topic within the Ethereum community throughout 2025.

Some community members expect a substantial increase this year. In November, Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano said that the objective of raising the gas limit to 180 million in 2026 represents a baseline rather than an optimistic scenario.

Security and quantum readiness

The foundation identified the Glamsterdam network upgrade, planned for the first half of 2026, as a key milestone. Alongside scaling efforts, long-term post-quantum security is being positioned as a central pillar of Ethereum’s broader safety strategy.

On Jan. 24, Ethereum researcher Justin Drake wrote on X that the foundation had “formed a new Post-Quantum (PQ) team.” “Today marks an inflection in the Ethereum Foundation’s long-term quantum strategy,” Drake said.

Beyond infrastructure and security, the foundation also emphasized user experience improvements for 2026. Plans include enhancing smart wallets through native account abstraction and advancing interoperability to enable smoother cross-chain interactions.

“The goal remains seamless, trust-minimized cross-L2 interactions, and we’re getting closer day by day. Continued progress on faster L1 confirmations and shorter L2 settlement times directly supports this.”

The foundation described 2025 as one of its “most productive years,” pointing to the Pectra and Fusaka upgrades. During that period, the community doubled the gas limit from 30 million to 60 million — the first such increase since 2021.

Ethereum and AI ambitions

Mario Havel of the Ethereum Foundation said on X on Wednesday: “It took us a while to push out the announcement because we were preparing the biggest curriculum so far.”

The update follows recent comments by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who shared his vision for how Ethereum could intersect with artificial intelligence. On Feb. 10, Buterin outlined how he sees the technologies complementing one another to enhance market efficiency, financial resilience and human agency.

He added that while the long-term objective is to empower individuals rather than replace them, near-term developments are likely to involve more incremental and practical applications.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-foundation-quantum-gas-limit-priorities-protocol

https://blog.ethereum.org/2026/02/18/protocol-priorities-update-2026

https://x.com/ethereumfndn/status/2024153469578522671

https://x.com/drakefjustin/status/2014791629408784816

https://x.com/TMIYChao/status/2023862239049248840