Ethereum Foundation Outlines Main Priorities For 2026

Some members of the Ethereum community anticipate that the gas limit will increase significantly this year. In November, Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano said that the goal of significantly increasing Ethereums gas limit to 180 million in 2026 is a baseline, not a best-case scenario.

“Post-quantum readiness” is a focus for Ethereum

The foundation highlighted the Glamsterdam network upgrade, scheduled for the first half of 2026, as a major priority. It also emphasized long-term post-quantum readiness as part of its broader security initiative.

On Jan. 24, Ethereum researcher Justin Drake said in an X post that the foundation had “formed a new Post-Quantum (PQ) team.”

“Today marks an inflection in the Ethereum Foundations long-term quantum strategy,” Drake said.

The Ethereum Foundation said it will also focus on improving user experience in 2026, with an emphasis on enhancing smart wallets through native account abstraction and enabling smoother interactions between blockchains via interoperability.

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

The foundation said that 2025 was one of the “most productive years,” citing two major network upgrades, Pectra and Fusaka, and the community raising the gas limit from 30 million to 60 million between the upgrades, for the first time since 2021.

Buterins big plans for Ethereum and AI

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

It comes just days after Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared his latest vision for Ethereums intersection with artificial intelligence on Feb. 10. Buterin explained that he sees the two working together to improve markets, financial safety and human agency.

Buterin said his broader vision for the future of AI is to empower humans rather than replace them, though he said the short term involves much more “ordinary” ideas.