Vitalik announces that Ethereum has solved the “Impossible Triangle” problem under the dual engines of PeerDAS and ZK-EVM, with network capacity and security upgraded simultaneously. Institutional funds are expected to reevaluate the prospects of on-chain infrastructure.
（Background recap: Previously, Brother MaJi’s long positions were frustrated again, Bitcoin OG whale floated a loss of 56 million USD）
（Additional background: Brother MaJi was liquidated 71 times by Hyperliquid in November, earning the title “Liquidation King”! Aster is taking customers: Brother MaJi mode to open next week）

Table of Contents

• PeerDAS pushes bandwidth ceiling
• ZK-EVMs on-chain bulletproof verification
• Institutional perspective: from laboratory to financial infrastructure

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced yesterday (4th) on X that the long-standing “Impossible Triangle” problem in blockchain technology has been cracked:

The Impossible Triangle has been solved — not just in theory, but through actual running code. One half (data availability sampling) is already live on the mainnet; the other half (ZK-EVM) has achieved production-quality performance. The only remaining hurdle is “security.”

Ten years ago, he first proposed the data availability challenge. Now, with Fusaka upgraded and online, Ethereum will gradually no longer need to compromise between decentralization, security, and scalability.

Now that ZKEVMs are at alpha stage (production-quality performance, remaining work is safety) and PeerDAS is live on mainnet, it’s time to talk more about what this combination means for Ethereum.

These are not minor improvements; they are shifting Ethereum into being a…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 3, 2026

PeerDAS pushes bandwidth ceiling

The key breakthrough comes from PeerDAS, launched in December 2025. Previously, each node had to download the entire block data; now, the system allows nodes to verify integrity by randomly sampling one-eighth of the data, effectively replacing “full endorsement” with “spot checks.”

Data shows: daily available data space for Layer 2 can increase by about eight times, while node bandwidth requirements decrease by 90%. A single commercial laptop can synchronize the mainnet and multiple rollups, significantly alleviating community concerns about reliance on centralized servers.

ZK-EVMs on-chain bulletproof verification

With bandwidth issues addressed, verification efficiency is supplemented by ZK-EVMs. Zero-knowledge proofs can provide a mathematical “proof of authenticity” without revealing transaction details. Currently, ZK-EVMs can execute smart contracts at production speed, and from 2027 onwards, are expected to gradually take over major verification responsibilities.

For developers, the benefit is the ability to write programs in the native EVM environment without restructuring contracts. For users, transaction privacy is protected, while enjoying second-level settlement speeds. The Ethereum development team is still conducting formal verification to ensure no vulnerabilities, with an official roadmap indicating a full switch is expected before 2030.

Institutional perspective: from laboratory to financial infrastructure

After the return of the Trump administration, Washington’s hostility toward the crypto industry has decreased, shifting investment focus to “which chain can support financial-grade traffic.” Ethereum is taking a modular approach: separating consensus, data, and execution, then aggregating demand with Layer 2. This risk-diversification design was once criticized for being overly complex, but now, with the support of PeerDAS and ZK-EVM dual engines, it has become the structure most capable of long-term resistance to black swan events in traditional finance.

Post-2026 upgrades like Glamsterdam and Hegota will further raise gas limits and optimize block compression. The community expects Ethereum’s composability and security baseline to attract more RWA and structured derivatives, expanding overall on-chain liquidity.

The engineering marathon is finally over, but the story is just beginning.