Beam Chain in detail: the nine changes that could redefine Ethereum

In the first part of this article we used the metaphor of the house: you build something solid, safe, and useful. Over time, your needs change and you learn new ways to improve it. It’s not that the house stops being useful, but that you can imagine what it would be like to take a leap forward in comfort, efficiency, and design.

Something similar happens with Ethereum. Today the network works and supports thousands of applications worldwide. But according to researchers like Justin Drake and other community developers, in the coming years new technological scenarios may emerge that could require a more advanced consensus layer. That’s where the Beam Chain proposal comes in.

Much of this analysis is based on a thread by Jarrod Watts on the social network X, along with Justin Drake’s presentation at Devcon 7, and the open discussions from the Beam research team

(Spoiler: there’s already talk of rebranding Beam Chain to “Lean Chain”… but that story will come later).

The Nine Changes of Beam Chain

1. Censorship Resistance – Inclusion Lists

Today Ethereum is censorship-resistant, but block production still presents concentration risks. Most blocks are built by a few specialized actors maximizing MEV, which raises concerns about who decides which transactions are included first.

Beam Chain introduces a mechanism called Inclusion Lists (ILs). In each slot, 16 validators select transactions directly from the mempool and form a list that block builders must respect. This means that although MEV optimization would still exist, it would no longer be possible to arbitrarily exclude a transaction.

2. Isolated Validators – Attester Proposer Separation (APS)

In the current model, block construction is mediated by relayers like Flashbots, which connect validators with block builders. This scheme works, but it introduces a centralization point in those intermediaries.

Beam Chain proposes to “enshrine” that separation between attesters and block proposers, natively and in a decentralized way, through execution auctions. This way, anyone could bid for the right to build a block, without depending on a central relayer.

This doesn’t replace the current system but extends it to make it more open and resilient.

3. Faster Slots – from 12 to 4 seconds

Slots are the time windows in which validators propose and agree on blocks. They currently last 12 seconds. Beam Chain would reduce them to 4 seconds, speeding up block propagation and increasing the network’s throughput.

Less time per slot means more fluidity and, combined with improvements in finality (which we’ll see below), it could radically transform the user experience: moving from waiting minutes to having virtually instant confirmations.

4. Smarter Issuance – Stake Cap

Ethereum dynamically adjusts its issuance and ETH burning. Depending on activity, it can become inflationary or deflationary in different periods. This is stable today, but there are explorations on how to make rewards more predictable over time.

Beam Chain considers introducing a stake cap: a maximum limit to the amount of ETH that can be validated. This would balance network security with controlled issuance and potentially more deflationary dynamics.

5. Smaller Validators – from 1 ETH

Becoming a validator today requires 32 ETH. A high barrier that, in practice, pushes many users to delegate their participation to pools or centralized platforms.

Beam Chain proposes lowering that threshold to 1 ETH, drastically expanding the validator base and fostering decentralization. It also plans to enable wider staking ranges (up to 2048 ETH), with a system called Orbit Staking, which distributes rewards proportionally and fairly among both large and small validators.

6. Faster Finality – from 15 minutes to 36 seconds

Today, finality (the mathematical certainty that a block won’t be reverted) takes about 15 minutes. With Beam Chain, an improved version of finality gadgets is being discussed, allowing finality to be reached in just 3 slots, i.e., 36 seconds.

This is especially relevant for DeFi applications, cross-chain protocols, and any service that relies on L1 security.

7. Chain SNARKification – the zk-era of consensus

Ethereum is already exploring zero-knowledge proofs in the execution layer. Beam Chain proposes to bring those techniques into consensus itself.

This includes aggregating validator signatures inside ZK proofs and compiling consensus implementations into verifiable bytecode. The goal: to make verifications more efficient, increase cryptographic security, and reduce validation costs.

8. Quantum Security – post-quantum resistance

Although we don’t yet know when quantum computers capable of breaking current cryptography will arrive, Ethereum researchers consider it prudent to anticipate.

Beam Chain would integrate post-quantum secure signatures (such as hash-based signatures), preparing for a scenario where current technologies could become vulnerable.

9. Strong Randomness – Verifiable Delay Functions

Randomness is key in Ethereum, for example, to select validators. Today it is achieved through secure mechanisms, but in the future stronger and more verifiable sources may be required.

Beam Chain aims to introduce VDFs (Verifiable Delay Functions), which generate public, verifiable, and manipulation-resistant randomness. This would benefit not only consensus but also applications requiring native on-chain randomness.

What’s Next?

What we’ve seen is not a list of patches for the present, but a long-term vision. Ethereum works today, but researchers like Justin Drake believe that in the coming years the consensus layer will need to be structurally rethought.

The conversation is already open: you can follow the discussions on the official Ethereum Youtube channel and review the full roadmap in

In future articles we will delve into how this proposal connects with Vitalik Buterin’s ideas on simplifying L1 in general, including the use of RISC-V as part of that redesign.

And meanwhile, at Eth Kipu, we continue educating, training, and supporting the developer community across Latin America, because we believe that understanding these discussions today is preparing to build tomorrow’s Ethereum.