Vitalik once again framed Ethereum’s technical upgrade as a clearer acceleration signal.
In a remote keynote at the 2026 Shanghai Blockchain International Week and the 12th Global Blockchain Summit, he said that Ethereum’s fork upgrades over the next two years will fully adopt STARK. With the current 12-second block production and roughly 16 minutes for finality, it may be pushed to 4–8 seconds for block production and 8–32 seconds for finality in the future. PANews also noted that AI is accelerating formal verification, enabling even more complex cryptographic systems to maintain security.
The appeal of these remarks isn’t just “faster,” but also “a clearer roadmap.” For ETH, the ecosystem narrative, L2, and ZK could all become easier for the market to connect and associate; but when it comes down to the transaction layer, faster short-term finality doesn’t automatically mean immediate changes in capital flows. Whether it truly brings funds back will still depend on how subsequent ecosystem catalysts follow through.
One observation scenario is that when upgrade expectations are gradually absorbed, ETH is more likely to be used for valuation-repair purposes. Another scenario is that if the market treats it merely as a piece of technology news, the price reaction could fade quickly. Which do you care more about: the experience improvements brought by “faster finality,” or the boost to the ecosystem narrative from “full adoption of STARK”?
Source: PANews
Image 1: Vitalik said Ethereum will fully adopt STARK within two years · Source: partial screenshot of the page
Image source: https://www.panewslab.com/zh/articles/01a0cc20-b9e3-71f5-9723-c302f5c9699b
In a remote keynote at the 2026 Shanghai Blockchain International Week and the 12th Global Blockchain Summit, he said that Ethereum’s fork upgrades over the next two years will fully adopt STARK. With the current 12-second block production and roughly 16 minutes for finality, it may be pushed to 4–8 seconds for block production and 8–32 seconds for finality in the future. PANews also noted that AI is accelerating formal verification, enabling even more complex cryptographic systems to maintain security.
The appeal of these remarks isn’t just “faster,” but also “a clearer roadmap.” For ETH, the ecosystem narrative, L2, and ZK could all become easier for the market to connect and associate; but when it comes down to the transaction layer, faster short-term finality doesn’t automatically mean immediate changes in capital flows. Whether it truly brings funds back will still depend on how subsequent ecosystem catalysts follow through.
One observation scenario is that when upgrade expectations are gradually absorbed, ETH is more likely to be used for valuation-repair purposes. Another scenario is that if the market treats it merely as a piece of technology news, the price reaction could fade quickly. Which do you care more about: the experience improvements brought by “faster finality,” or the boost to the ecosystem narrative from “full adoption of STARK”?
Source: PANews
Image 1: Vitalik said Ethereum will fully adopt STARK within two years · Source: partial screenshot of the page
Image source: https://www.panewslab.com/zh/articles/01a0cc20-b9e3-71f5-9723-c302f5c9699b
