Beam chain: what’s next?

The Beam Chain was introduced publicly by Justin Drake, an Ethereum researcher, at DevCon 2024 two weeks ago. This highly anticipated announcement sparked mixed reactions: some met it with excitement, while others expressed skepticism.

But, what’s next?

At this stage, we’re waiting for the official proposal and technical specifications, which could take time to finalize.

Meanwhile, discussions around the Beam Chain are intensifying, and it's essential to address some of the concerns.

One key point raised is the argument that we could continue without the Beam Chain ????

However, it’s crucial to remember that the Ethereum Consensus Layer (CL) is 5 already years old. Yes, it’s a lot! In a nutshell, the CL has become outdated. It has accumulated technical debt and is not utilizing some of the latest innovations, such as Zero-Knowledge (ZK) proofs.

The Beam Chain introduction presents an opportunity to address this backlog, perform necessary upgrades, and clean up Ethereum’s tech debt all in one go. As Justin Drake mentioned, a primary reason for this overhaul is to reduce the technological debt that has built up on the Beacon Chain over the past five years.

Note: The Beam Chain does not change Ethereum’s roadmap but rather consolidates upcoming changes into a unified proposal with a batch upgrade.

Read more in my recent thread.

Another significant concern is the 5-year timeline for the Beam Chain implementation. Many argue that five years is too long.

However, Justin Drake clarified that Ethereum will continue to receive regular updates throughout this period. The Beam Chain fork itself will occur after five years of constant updates to Ethereum.

But why five years? Ethereum currently supports hundreds of billions of dollars in assets, TVL, and thousands of dApps. This immense ecosystem requires careful planning and testing to ensure a smooth rollout to the mainnet. This is a hard rationale to argue with.

https://preview.redd.it/2ga9omf63g3e1.png?1842&format=png&auto=webp&s=4ba7a269b9891de6520b5f8682bdcc6e4ada62c8

Also it’s important to note that the Beam Chain is still a proposal. It’s highly likely that changes will be made to the initial design before it ossifies. Thus, it is a great opportunity for everyone to engage in the Ethereum governance and share your thoughts on the Beam Chain.

The proposal is open for discussion — the more reasoned opinions and inputs we have, the better the chance we can shape the best solution for Ethereum's future!