What did Buterin actually say?
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published an essay titled "The Cryptographic World Computer" on September 27, 2026, in which he outlined how the network should look around 2030. According to The Block, he wrote in it that Ethereum "is really no longer just a blockchain," and according to Cointelegraph he speaks of a transition "from a mere blockchain to something far more powerful."
The key line behind the headline: Buterin suggested that the Hegota fork could be Ethereum's last "normal" fork. We break down exactly what he means by that below. This is his view and vision, not an approved development schedule.
What does "the last normal fork" mean?
A fork (network upgrade) is a coordinated change to the protocol rules that node operators have to agree on. A "normal" fork, in Buterin's framing, means a classic upgrade of the kind Ethereum carries out today.
According to The Defiant, Buterin argues that upgrades after Hegota should place two things at the center of the network:
- proof-checking of cryptographic proofs instead of every node repeating the same computation,
- distributed offchain work.
The goal is to reduce the need for nodes to compute the same thing over and over. That, according to The Defiant, is the core of the shift meant to turn Ethereum into a "cryptographic world computer."
What role does PeerDAS play?
According to Cointelegraph, Buterin called PeerDAS the beginning of this transformation, that is, the moment when Ethereum starts moving "from a mere blockchain to something far more powerful."
PeerDAS is a data availability technique that lets nodes work with samples of data rather than having to download and verify all of it. Why it matters for the reader: it is the building block on which Buterin's vision keeps building. The exact technical details of how individual components will be deployed over time do not follow from the sources cited here.
What is the network supposed to look like around 2030?
According to Kryptonovinky.sk, the essay describes the network around 2030 as a system built on mathematical proofs and privacy protection, one that gradually shifts from a classic blockchain into a cryptographic world computer. The Block sums it up as Buterin's "roadmap" for Ethereum through 2030.
An important clarification: this is an essay by one of the co-founders, meaning a direction and a vision. It is not a vote by core developers nor a binding roadmap document.
What remains uncertain?
- We do not know the exact date of the Hegota fork or the dates of further upgrades from the sources cited.
- It is not confirmed that Hegota will actually be the last "normal" fork. According to the sources, Buterin described this as a possibility, not as a fact.
- The specific technical specification of the steps after Hegota is not laid out in detail in these sources.
What to watch for with news of this type
Essays and posts by founders describe intent. The reality of a protocol is born in a process where developers and node operators have to agree on changes. It is useful to separate three things: what is a published vision (here, the essay), what is an approved upgrade, and what is already actually deployed on mainnet. This article documents the first of these.