Justin Drake proposes the Beam chain, a consensus-layer redesign, at Devcon in Bangkok

Ethereum Foundation/Lean Ethereum

Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake proposed the Beam chain at Devcon, a consensus-layer redesign: 4-second slots (vs. 12), finality within three slots, 1 ETH minimum stake (vs. 32), zero-knowledge proofs, and post-quantum cryptography. Timeline: specification 2025, building 2026, testing through 2027–2029.

• 4-second slots with finality in three slots (vs. current 12-second, 63-slot finality structure).
• 1 ETH minimum stake instead of 32 ETH; lowers participation barrier for fresh staking pools.
• Native zkEVM enables arbitrary block sizes; gas limit becomes negotiable rather than protocol-imposed.
• Post-quantum cryptography hardens against future quantum threats; requires 3+ years testing before mainnet.