以太坊通过解耦共识协议更接近更快的最终确定

正式验证的模型将最终性与区块生产分开，为将以太坊 16 分钟的确认时间缩短至几秒奠定了基础

以太坊的共识层即将进行结构性改革。 Researchers from the Ethereum Foundation’s Consensus team have formally verified a new protocol model that decouples finality from block production and fork choice, a foundational change designed to dramatically reduce the time it takes for transactions to become irreversible on the network.

目前，以太坊最终确定大约需要 16 分钟。我们的目标是将这个窗口压缩到一分钟以下，并最终压缩到几秒钟。

脱钩实际上意味着什么

Ethereum’s consensus protocol currently bundles together three distinct jobs: producing blocks, choosing between competing chain forks, and finalizing transactions.解耦方法将最终性分离成自己独立的轨道。 Block production and fork choice continue running on their own cadence, while a trailing finality gadget operates alongside them, confirming blocks as irreversible on a parallel timeline.

Under this architecture, fast block production could be handled by smaller committees of around 256 to 512 validators, while the full validator set maintains the finality gadget running behind it. That’s a significant reduction in coordination overhead for the block-by-block work, while preserving the security guarantees that come from having the entire validator set sign off on finalized checkpoints.

经过机器检查的证据，而不仅仅是承诺

The milestone that triggered this announcement is the formal verification of the decoupled protocol model using Lean 4, a proof assistant that provides machine-checked mathematical guarantees. The researchers confirmed key properties like safety and finalization without relying on any “sorry” statements, which are essentially placeholders that skip unproven steps in formal verification.

The current 16-minute finality window exists because Ethereum requires two full epochs to finalize, with each epoch consisting of 32 slots at 12 seconds per slot.算算下来，至少需要大约 12.8 分钟，在实践中通常会延长更长的时间。

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单时隙终结的路线图

Ben Edgington 是推动这项工作的研究人员之一，他在 2026 年 5 月的一篇博客文章中概述了实际路线图。该策略遵循一个深思熟虑的顺序：首先解耦流程，然后逐步增强最终性。

Once finality operates independently, future improvements could draw on protocols like Minmitt and Goldfish, which are being researched in parallel and target dynamically available, single-round finality options. The Goldfish protocol, in particular, explores dynamic availability — the ability to maintain consensus even when large portions of the validator set go offline temporarily.

This work aligns with the broader “strawmap” roadmap that Vitalik Buterin has articulated, which targets finality improvements likely arriving by 2029.

为什么更快的最终确定会改变竞争格局

以太坊 16 分钟的最终确定窗口一直是一个持续的竞争劣势。 Several alternative Layer 1 networks already offer finality in seconds, and that gap matters most in two areas: high-value transactions and cross-chain bridging. Bridges between Ethereum and other networks must account for the long finality window by either imposing delays or accepting reorganization risk.

The decoupled approach also points toward a leaner, more verifiable consensus mechanism that the researchers say anticipates eventual quantum resistance, with the modular architecture making it easier to swap in quantum-resistant cryptographic primitives without rebuilding the entire protocol.