Protocol Update 003 — Improve UX

Protocol's "Improve UX" track focuses on interoperability as its highest-leverage opportunity over the next 6 to 12 months, aiming to make cross-chain interactions seamless, secure and permissionless. The near-term strategy centres on intent-based architecture and general message-passing, with work split into Initialisation, Acceleration and Finalisation streams. The Open Intents Framework, a collaborative effort including Ethereum Foundation contributors and teams such as Across, Arbitrum and Hyperlane, is slated to complete its open-source solver and crosschain validation module in Q4 2025. Fast L1 confirmation, led by Roberto Saltini and Mikhail Kalinin (Consensys), targets Q1 2026 availability in all consensus clients, cutting confirmation from 13 to 19 minutes down to 15 to 30 seconds.