Ethereum Ecosystem — 2026-04-24

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Vitalik Buterin Unveils Ethereum's Four-to-Five-Year Roadmap at Hong Kong Web3 Carnival

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin delivered a landmark keynote at the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, laying out an ambitious multi-year roadmap that marks a significant philosophical shift for the network. Buterin outlined two core functions of the Ethereum protocol: serving as a "public billboard" (where applications publish messages that anyone can verify) and acting as a globally shared computer. The roadmap prioritizes native ZK-EVM verification, scaling, and quantum-resistant cryptography as the pillars of Ethereum's next phase.

Perhaps most provocatively, Buterin stated that "replicating Ethereum's L2 is meaningless," signaling that the rollup-centric scaling vision is evolving. Rather than treating Layer 2s as mere throughput extensions, the new roadmap envisions Ethereum itself achieving greater native resilience — with ZK-EVM verification baked into the base layer, reducing dependence on offchain trust assumptions. This follows Buterin's earlier February statement that the original rollup-centric roadmap "no longer makes sense."

The quantum security thread is equally significant. Buterin identified post-quantum cryptography as a near-term existential priority, building on the Ethereum Foundation's recently established dedicated post-quantum research team. Key milestones are projected through 2028, encompassing both scalability improvements and hardened cryptographic primitives. The full speech, summarized by PANews, covers zkEVM timelines and what "world computer resilience" means in practice for developers and users alike.

Protocol & Development

• Vitalik's "World Computer" Vision at Hong Kong Web3 Carnival: Buterin's full speech detailed Ethereum's dual mandate — public verifiable data layer plus global computation — and explicitly argued that chasing transactions-per-second metrics misses the point. The speech introduces a framework where long-term resilience (quantum safety, decentralization, ZK-native verification) outweighs raw throughput gains. Developers and ecosystem watchers are parsing what this means for EIP prioritization heading into the Hegota upgrade window.

• Ethereum's Hegota Upgrade Roadmap — FOCIL Confirmed: Earlier context: Ethereum developers officially scheduled FOCIL (Fork-Choice enforced Inclusion Lists) as the consensus-layer headline for the upcoming Hegota upgrade, targeted for late 2026. Buterin publicly endorsed FOCIL as reinforcing Ethereum's "cypherpunk principles" of censorship resistance. With the new roadmap framing from Hong Kong, Hegota's scope appears to be expanding around ZK-readiness and post-quantum preparedness.

• Post-Quantum Roadmap Timelines Clarified: Buterin's Hong Kong speech provided the clearest public timeline yet for quantum-resistant Ethereum, with milestones plotted through 2028. This includes both wallet-level and protocol-level quantum resistance. The Ethereum Foundation's dedicated post-quantum research team is now actively coordinating EIP proposals in this area, making it one of the most consequential near-term research tracks in the ecosystem.

DeFi Pulse

• Total Ethereum DeFi TVL: Per DefiLlama, Aave V3 alone holds $14.387B in TVL on Ethereum. Broader Ethereum chain TVL data is available at defillama.com/chain/ethereum.

• Top Movers:

  • Aave V3: $14.387B TVL — remains the dominant lending protocol on Ethereum mainnet.
  • Base (via Ether.fi migration): Ether.fi's completed migration to OP Mainnet brought $200M in TVL, 70,000 active cards, and 300,000 accounts to the Optimism stack — recorded as the "largest TVL event" in OP Mainnet history.
  • DeFi sector-wide: The aftermath of the Kelp DAO $293M exploit continues to depress sentiment; DeFi shed $13B in TVL in the days following the April 19 hack.

• Kelp DAO Exploiter Initiates Cross-Chain Laundering: The hacker behind the $293M Kelp DAO exploit — the largest DeFi theft of 2026 — has begun cross-chain laundering operations to obscure the stolen funds. DEXTools reported that the exploiter is actively moving assets across chains to hide the trail. The attack, which occurred on April 19, exposed critical cross-chain bridge risks and triggered a broader $13B TVL drawdown across DeFi, per Sherwood News.

• DeFi TVL Shed $13B Post-KelpDAO Hack: The fallout from the Kelp DAO exploit triggered a sector-wide $13B TVL decline, according to Sherwood News. The hack has reignited debate around cross-chain bridge security and the systemic risks posed by large re-staking protocols with complex multi-chain exposure.

• L2 Security Risk Spotlight — Private Key Centralization: A Startup Fortune investigation found that major Ethereum Layer 2 networks including Blast, Optimism, Mantle, and Base hold billions in user funds secured not by decentralized consensus, but by a small set of private keys. The report argues this centralization risk should concern crypto investors broadly, particularly in a post-KelpDAO exploit environment.

7 sources

dextools.io

dextools.io

startupfortune.com

startupfortune.com

dextools.io

dextools.io

defillama.com

Ethereum - DeFi TVL, Fees, & Revenue - DefiLlama

defillama.com

Chain Rankings by TVL - DeFi Analytics - DefiLlama

defillama.com

Ethereum - DeFi TVL, Fees, & Revenue - DefiLlama

defillama.com

Aave TVL, Fees & Revenue

Layer 2 & Scaling

• L2BEAT Activity Data — Rollups at 48.84x Ethereum Scaling Factor: According to L2BEAT's live activity dashboard, rollups are currently operating at a 48.84x scaling factor compared to Ethereum mainnet, with rollup past-day UOPS at 1.33K versus Ethereum's 21.76 UOPS. This data underscores why Vitalik's pivot away from a pure "throughput race" framing is notable — L2s are already delivering massive scale, and the roadmap debate has shifted to quality of scaling (security, decentralization, quantum resilience).

• Ether.fi Migration to OP Mainnet Sets TVL Record: The crypto payments card provider Ether.fi completed its full migration to OP Mainnet, delivering what The Block described as the "largest TVL event" in OP Mainnet history. The migration brought $200M in TVL, 70,000 active cards, and 300,000 user accounts to the Optimism ecosystem — a significant real-world usage milestone for the OP Stack.

• Vitalik: "Replicating Ethereum's L2 Is Meaningless": Buterin's Hong Kong remarks included a sharp critique of L2 strategies that merely copy Ethereum's design without adding unique value. This follows his February statement that the rollup-centric roadmap "no longer makes sense" as a singular paradigm. The implication for L2 builders: differentiation, not replication, is the path forward. Meanwhile, Base holds ~$4B TVL and Arbitrum over $2B, per DefiLlama data cited by CoinDesk.

1 sources

theblock.co

OP Mainnet records

What to Watch

• Kelp DAO Exploit Fallout: Track whether on-chain investigators and blockchain analytics firms can trace or freeze the cross-chain laundering of the $293M in stolen Kelp DAO funds. Any recovery or freezing event would be significant for DeFi security credibility.
• Hegota Upgrade Development: With FOCIL confirmed and Buterin's new ZK-native / quantum-resistant framing from Hong Kong, watch for core developer calls in the coming weeks that may expand Hegota's scope or timeline. Any new EIPs added to the inclusion list will be market-moving.
• L2 Centralization Debate: The Startup Fortune report on private key risks in L2 security models is likely to generate responses from Blast, Optimism, Mantle, and Base teams. Monitor governance forums for decentralization roadmap announcements.
• Post-Quantum EIP Pipeline: With Buterin publicly committing to 2028 milestones for quantum resistance, expect a flurry of EIP proposals and Ethereum Magicians forum posts over the next several weeks as researchers translate the roadmap into concrete specifications.

Reader Action Items

• Review Your L2 Exposure: Given the Startup Fortune investigation into private key centralization risks on Blast, Optimism, Mantle, and Base, consider reviewing how much of your DeFi portfolio is exposed to L2s that have not yet published formal decentralization timelines for their upgrade keys. Higher-maturity rollups with published security councils offer relatively lower trust assumptions.
• Monitor the KelpDAO Exploit: If you held rsETH or were exposed to Kelp DAO liquidity, check official Kelp DAO communications for any potential recovery mechanisms or airdrop compensation plans. Cross-chain laundering is underway, so time-sensitive claims windows (if any) may close quickly.
• Engage with Ethereum Governance: Vitalik's Hong Kong roadmap is a high-signal moment to participate in Ethereum Magicians and EIP discussions, particularly around ZK-EVM verification and post-quantum cryptography. The next 6–12 months will see foundational decisions about Ethereum's architecture made in these forums.