Ethereum continues to evolve, and in 2025, the network is preparing to launch one of the most ambitious projects in its ecosystem: MegaETH. This Layer 2 rollout, backed by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and other influential players in the crypto industry, promises instant transaction finality and a record-breaking 100,000 TPS throughput. As the testnet launch date approaches on March 10, 2025, we take a closer look at what MegaETH is, how it works, what innovations it offers, and whether it can be Ethereum’s answer to challenges from competitors like Solana, Sui, and Monad.
MegaETH: A New Turn in Ethereum Scaling
In June 2024, the MegaETH startup attracted the attention of the crypto community when Vitalik Buterin, along with venture fund Dragonfly Capital and other investors, invested in this project. MegaETH is positioned as a high-performance layer 2 solution for Ethereum that combines compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and revolutionary technical characteristics. The main goal is to achieve a transaction processing speed of 100,000 TPS, which is comparable to the long-term plans of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) for the base layer (L1).
The launch of the MegaETH testnet, scheduled for March 10, 2025, will be an important event for assessing its potential. In this article, we will explore how this "breakthrough" rollup is structured, what compromises the developers had to make, and whether it will be able to take Ethereum to the next level in the competition with Solana.
Why is MegaETH important for Ethereum?
Criticism and reorganization at the Ethereum Foundation
In 2024, the Ethereum Foundation faced a wave of criticism. The community expressed dissatisfaction with:
- The tendency to centralize the network;
- Shifting focus to L2 solutions;
- Periodical sales of ETH from reserves;
- Lagging behind Solana in transaction speed and cost.
The response to these challenges was a reorganization within EF. On February 28, 2025, the foundation announced the creation of the Silviculture Society, an independent expert group that will advise on the development of the ecosystem while maintaining its decentralized ideals. On March 2, EF introduced new executive directors Xiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stanczak, signaling a change in direction and stronger technical governance.
At the Devcon conference in November 2024, Vitalik Buterin emphasized Ethereum's strategic vision as a "global computer." In his words:
- L1 (the main layer) is responsible for decentralization and reliability;
- L2 solutions, such as MegaETH, act as "GPUs", providing scalability and high performance.
Buterin highlighted key priorities:
- Strengthening decentralization and censorship resistance;
- Increasing network throughput to 100,000+ TPS via L2;
- Development of decentralized applications (dApps), including social networks and payment systems.
MegaETH fits perfectly into this strategy, offering an innovative approach to scaling without compromising the core values of Ethereum.
Funding and support
The MegaETH project has received strong support:
- Seed Round (July 2024): $20 million from the likes of Joe Lubin (Ethereum co-founder), Dragonfly Capital, Robot Ventures, Sriram Kannan (EigenLayer), Mert Mumtaz (Helius, Solana), and influencer Cobie.
- ICO (December 13, 2024): $10 million raised in 3 minutes.
- Fluffle NFT sale: ~$28 million, bringing the total raised to $58 million.
The involvement of Buterin, who is known for his selective investment, highlights the project’s evolutionary value. MegaETH is currently valued at $540 million, making it one of the most promising startups in the Ethereum ecosystem.
How MegaETH Works: Technical Innovations
MegaETH is a modular, layer-2 rollup designed to execute transactions in parallel using a unique architecture. The project was initiated in 2022 by Yilong Li, a Stanford graduate inspired by Buterin’s ideas for a high-bandwidth network. The team was completed by Lei Yan (formerly of EigenLayer) and Shuyao Kong (formerly of ConsenSys), who is responsible for business development.
Main characteristics:
- Speed and finality: Transaction processing time is less than 10 ms (compared to 250 ms for Arbitrum).
- Goal: 100,000 TPS and 10 GigaGases after activating the parallelization mechanism.
- Private testing has already shown 15,000 TPS at 1.5 GigaGases - 60 times more than Base.
Architecture:
- Unified Sequencer: Simplifies consensus by speeding up transaction processing.
- Node Roles: Sequencer: Orders and executes transactions. Proof Nodes: Validate blocks without storing state. Replication Nodes: Update local states based on sequencer data. Full Nodes: Validate each transaction for finality (suitable for bridges and market makers).
Technological innovations:
- RAM: Network state is stored in RAM instead of SSD, speeding up data access.
- JIT Compilation: Smart contracts are converted to machine code on the fly, improving performance.
- Parallel Execution: Separating block creation and verification minimizes conflicts.
- Streaming EVM: Streaming transaction processing with a target block time of 1ms.
- Optimized Storage: New state tree structure for scaling to terabytes.
Data Storage: EigenDA Instead of Ethereum
Unlike traditional rollups that use Ethereum BLOB storage, MegaETH relies on EigenLayer's EigenDA. This solution provides throughput of over 100 MB/s, but is controversial:
- Vitalik Buterin confirmed plans to increase Ethereum's BLOB space to 6 objects per slot with the Pectra upgrade and to 128 with Fusaka in January 2025.
- Ethereum developers, including Justin Drake, have criticized third-party DA solutions as a threat to decentralization.
MegaETH's head of development (Bread) told Cointelegraph that Ethereum's excessive focus on decentralization is holding back progress: "Solana is outscaling us, and that's what inspired us to create MegaETH."
MegaETH vs Solana: Can Ethereum Reclaim the Lead?
Solana has dominated the high-performance blockchain space for years thanks to its low fees and transaction speeds. However, MegaETH is challenging:
Advantages of MegaETH:
- Fully compatible with EVM (Uniswap, Aave and other dApps are easily integrated).
- High speed (up to 100,000 TPS vs. 65,000 TPS for Solana at peak).
- Integration with the Ethereum ecosystem, preserving its security.
Compromises:
- Single sequencer reduces decentralization compared to Solana.
- Dependency on EigenDA, whose reliability has not yet been proven in real-world conditions.
MegaETH is positioned as a "real-time blockchain", offering an experience similar to centralized Web2 applications, which could attract institutional players and developers.
MegaETH Ecosystem: NFT and MegaMafia
NFT Fluffle Collection
MegaETH's third funding round was completed through the sale of 10,000 soulbound tokens (SBT) from the Fluffle collection:
- Stage 1: 5,000 NFTs for 1 ETH (~$28 million).
- Stage 2: The remaining 5,000 for active users.
- Features: NFTs evolve based on the owner's activity, opening up customization and potential rewards (5% of the future token's emission).
MegaMafia program
MegaLabs launched the MegaMafia initiative to attract developers:
- Support for hackathons and meetups.
- Build new dApps that leverage MegaETH's speed: GTE: High-speed DEX. Valhalla: Derivatives platform. Euphoria: Gamified trading. Sweep: Live stream betting. Autonomous World Engine: 3D world to earn.
These projects demonstrate the potential of MegaETH for DeFi, gaming, and social applications.
Testnet launch and prospects
The MegaETH testnet will launch on March 10, 2025. The team announced on Discord that they will be giving away test ETH to participants for onboarding, and will be holding an AMA on March 8 to discuss the process. This will give the community a chance to evaluate:
- Transaction speed;
- Useful interface;
- Network stability under load.
If MegaETH lives up to expectations, it could be a key tool for Ethereum to regain its competitive edge over Solana, Sui, and Monad.
To participate in the testnet, join the project's Discord server, verify, go to the wallet-registration topic, and register your EVM wallet (note: /register YOUR_EVM_WALLET).
Conclusion: MegaETH – the Future of Ethereum or a Risky Experiment?
MegaETH is not just another rollup, but Ethereum’s attempt to combine Solana’s scalability with the robustness of its ecosystem. Buterin’s support, significant funding, and innovative technology make it a promising project. However, the tradeoffs of a single sequencer and a third-party DA raise questions about decentralization. Will MegaETH be able to take Ethereum to the next level? The answer will become clear after the testnet launches. Stay tuned and join the testing to see for yourself!
