The Merge has come and gone — Ethereum’s long-anticipated shift from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) is complete. Now, the real journey begins. With energy consumption reduced by over 99%, the network is cleaner, greener, and ready for its next evolution. But what comes after the Merge? The answer lies in Ethereum’s ambitious roadmap: the Surge, Verge, Purge, and Splurge — a series of upgrades designed to make Ethereum faster, cheaper, and more decentralized than ever before.
Ethereum’s Post-Merge Evolution: A New Era Begins
The Merge wasn’t an endpoint — it was a foundation. By transitioning to PoS, Ethereum laid the groundwork for scalability, sustainability, and long-term decentralization. Now, developers are focused on fulfilling the network’s original vision: becoming a truly scalable, accessible, and efficient decentralized world computer.
👉 Discover how Ethereum’s upgrades could redefine blockchain performance and user accessibility.
At full implementation, Ethereum could process up to 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) — a massive leap from its current throughput of around 15 TPS. This transformation will be driven by four core upgrades, each addressing a critical bottleneck in the network’s architecture.
The Surge: Scaling Through Sharding
Ethereum’s biggest pain point has always been congestion. High gas fees during peak usage have made the network inaccessible for everyday users. The Surge aims to fix this by introducing sharding — a technique that splits the blockchain into multiple parallel chains called shards.
Instead of processing all transactions on the mainnet, Ethereum will distribute them across 64 shards, each handling its own set of data and computations. These shards won’t process transactions independently but will bundle them and submit proofs back to the main chain for final validation.
This layered approach leverages Layer 2 scaling solutions such as rollups (e.g., Optimism, Arbitrum) and sidechains (e.g., Polygon). With native support for shards, Ethereum will significantly reduce data load on the mainnet, enabling faster and cheaper transactions.
Estimates suggest that post-Surge, transaction costs on Layer 2 could drop by up to 90% — potentially bringing fees down to fractions of a cent. That kind of affordability opens the door for blockchain use in everyday applications: social media interactions, microtransactions in gaming, and real-time digital identity verification.
In essence, the Surge transforms Ethereum from a single-lane highway into a multi-lane superhighway — capable of handling massive traffic without slowdowns.
The Verge: Enabling Stateless Clients
As Ethereum scales, maintaining network decentralization becomes harder. Running a validator node currently requires storing vast amounts of data — a barrier for average users with consumer-grade hardware.
Enter the Verge — an upgrade focused on reducing node requirements through Verkle trees.
Unlike traditional Merkle trees, which require full knowledge of the network state to validate transactions, Verkle trees allow nodes to verify data using minimal information. This enables stateless clients: validators that can participate in consensus without storing the entire blockchain state.
Why does this matter?
- Lower hardware requirements mean more people can run validators.
- Greater validator diversity strengthens network resilience and decentralization.
- Mobile and lightweight devices (even smartphones) could eventually become full participants.
Vitalik Buterin has expressed hope that one day, users will be able to validate Ethereum transactions directly from their phones — turning every user into a potential node operator.
The Purge: Cleaning Up the Blockchain Ledger
Even with stateless clients, there's still a problem: data bloat.
The Ethereum blockchain ledger currently exceeds 1TB in size and continues to grow. Every full node must store this entire history — a burden that discourages participation and increases centralization risks.
The Purge tackles this head-on. Through proposals like EIP-4444, Ethereum plans to eliminate the requirement for nodes to retain historical data indefinitely. Instead:
- Nodes will only keep recent data necessary for consensus.
- Older blocks can be pruned or stored off-chain by archival services.
This doesn’t compromise security — finality and validity are still ensured through cryptographic proofs. But it dramatically reduces storage demands, making node operation feasible for far more participants.
Imagine being able to run a fully functional Ethereum node on a laptop or even a smartphone. That’s the future the Purge is building toward.
👉 See how lightweight validation could democratize access to blockchain networks.
The Splurge: Polishing the Vision
“The Splurge” may sound whimsical, but it represents serious technical refinement. It’s not a single upgrade but a collection of smaller improvements that support the broader goals of scalability, usability, and efficiency.
Key initiatives under the Splurge include:
- Enhancing validator performance and synchronization speed.
- Improving cross-shard communication.
- Streamlining protocol economics and incentive structures.
- Introducing new cryptographic primitives for privacy and efficiency.
These updates ensure that as Ethereum grows in complexity, it remains stable, secure, and developer-friendly.
How Ethereum’s Upgrades Impact Supply and Value
Beyond performance, the Merge also triggered significant economic changes.
Reduced ETH Issuance
Under PoW, Ethereum issued about 5 million ETH per year to miners. With PoS, issuance follows a quadratic formula: 166 × √(total ETH staked). As staking grows, new supply increases — but at a much slower rate.
With over 25 million ETH already staked, annual issuance could drop by up to 90% compared to pre-Merge levels. Some analysts refer to this as a "triple halving" — equivalent to three consecutive Bitcoin halvings in terms of supply reduction impact.
EIP-1559: Burning Gas Fees
Since August 2021, Ethereum has implemented EIP-1559, which burns a portion of every transaction fee instead of paying it to validators. This creates deflationary pressure — especially during periods of high network usage.
Post-Merge, with lower issuance and ongoing fee burns, Ethereum’s net supply could actually decrease over time, turning ETH into a deflationary asset under certain conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What comes after the Ethereum Merge?
A: The next major upgrades are the Surge (scaling via sharding), Verge (stateless clients), Purge (data pruning), and Splurge (miscellaneous optimizations). Together, they aim to make Ethereum faster, cheaper, and more decentralized.
Q: Will Ethereum transaction fees get cheaper?
A: Yes — especially after the Surge. With sharding and Layer 2 integration, fees could drop by up to 90%, making microtransactions viable for everyday apps.
Q: Can I run an Ethereum node on my phone?
A: Not yet — but that’s the goal of the Verge and Purge upgrades. Future versions aim to enable lightweight, mobile-friendly validation.
Q: Is ETH becoming deflationary?
A: Under current conditions — low issuance post-Merge and ongoing EIP-1559 fee burns — ETH supply can decrease during high usage periods, creating deflationary dynamics.
Q: When will these upgrades happen?
A: They are being rolled out gradually. While timelines vary, core components like sharding are expected over the next few years as development progresses.
Q: How does sharding improve scalability?
A: Sharding splits the network into 64 parallel chains (shards), distributing transaction load. This allows Ethereum to process vastly more transactions without overloading the main chain.
Ethereum’s journey is far from over. The Merge was just the beginning — a pivotal moment that set the stage for a new era of innovation. As the Surge, Verge, Purge, and Splurge unfold, Ethereum moves closer to its ultimate vision: a decentralized platform capable of powering global digital infrastructure.
👉 Stay ahead of blockchain evolution with insights into Ethereum’s next-generation upgrades.
The road ahead is complex — but so is building the future of Web3.