Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said on Sunday that the Hegotá upgrade, scheduled for 2027, could be the last 'regular' network fork; according to him, PeerDAS marked the beginning of Ethereum's transition to a more advanced architecture.

Transition to a 'cryptographic world computer'

Buterin noted that after Hegotá, development will shift toward technologies such as recursive STARKs, automated formal verification, optimized consensus, and quantum-resistant cryptography. He described Ethereum's evolution as moving from a model where nodes download and re-execute transactions to an architecture that combines blockchain with cryptographic verification, privacy, and decentralized offchain components.

According to him, PeerDAS, which allows nodes to verify data availability through selective sampling instead of full downloads, has become the starting point for this transition.

Offchain computation and 'thin' nodes

Ethereum researcher Barnabé Monnot believes that moving computations offchain while recording and proving results onchain will significantly reduce network load and make lightweight nodes easier to operate. At the same time, in his view, the 'world computer' should keep critical application records directly onchain so users can observe processes and interact without intermediaries.

New opportunities for DeFi and legal skepticism

Commentator Cryptographic believes the proposed architecture will expand DeFi functionality: more complex computations could be performed outside smart contracts, while Ethereum would verify that results comply with protocol rules and handle settlements. Lending is cited as an example—collateral analysis, liquidation routing, and borrower-lender matching could take place offchain before onchain verification and finalization.

Attorney Gabriel Shapiro questioned whether there will be broad demand for proof-based systems, noting that many financial services rely on reputation, regulation, and enforcement rather than constant cryptographic verification.