Ethereum just flipped the script on data handling. The Fusaka upgrade went live in early December 2025, and the headline feature is PeerDAS—nodes now only need to sample roughly 1/8 of rollup blobs instead of downloading everything. How? Erasure coding. Bandwidth slashed, but data availability stays ironclad. That's the magic.

What's the real impact? Rollups can crank up capacity without making full node operation a nightmare for home stakers and solo operators. It's a scaling unlock that doesn't sacrifice decentralization. Meanwhile, the zkEVM team has its eyes locked on 128-bit proofs by end-2026, which opens the door to settling directly on Bitcoin. Cross-chain interop without bridges suddenly feels less like science fiction.

The roadmap is ambitious. Prove complex computations faster, settle anywhere, keep the chain lean. It's not just engineering—it's reshaping how Ethereum thinks about data and settlement.