But Ethereum now finds it urgent to replace every vulnerable quantum part with a secure quantum alternative, Buterin said, including a redesign of the cheap data storage that rollups, the Layer 2 networks built on top of Ethereum, depend on.
Privacy has been elevated to what Buterin called a “first-class goal” rather than an afterthought. The plan calls for designing core components of the network so that private, intermediary-free transactions can pass through them by default.
The way the network controls itself is also changing. Instead of each node re-executing each transaction, Ethereum plans to rely on recursive STARKs. This cryptographic proof method allows a node to verify a compact proof that the work was done correctly, rather than repeating it. That change is aimed at making the network faster and lighter to operate.
As such, the change Buterin pointed out as most disruptive is what Ethereum calls state. State is the current memory of a blockchain, the complete snapshot of everything that exists on a network at a specific time.
Think of it as the updated record of every account balance and all the data those contracts contain (like who owns which NFT, how much is in a lending pool, every token ledger), starting with the last block.
