Vitalik Buterin, the person behind Ethereum, recently released a blog post suggesting a solution to lower the strain on the network caused by its extensive number of validators, which amounts to approximately 895,000.
The large validator count in Ethereum promotes decentralization, enabling everyday individuals to participate in staking. However, this puts a burden on the network as it has to process a significant number of signatures.
According to Vitalik Buterin, the existing load and technical complexity are excessively high and require attention.
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Buterin reckons the existing signature aggregation system, which handles around 28,000 signatures per slot, creates systemic complexity and falls short of the ultimate objective of enabling anyone to participate in staking.
"It seems infeasible to make an everyone-signs-in-every-slot system truly enable staking for the average person in the long term: if Ethereum has 500 million users, and 10% of them stake, then that implies 100 million signatures per slot,”Buterin wrote.
In the Ethereum network, a slot represents a specific time unit. The network allows a time period of 12 seconds for the selection of a random validator to propose a block for that slot.
The co-founder of Ethereum proposes a reduction in the number of signatures per slot from the current 28,000 to 8,192. This adjustment aims to alleviate the technical complexities that the network is currently facing.
Buterin suggests three approaches to tackle the issue, starting with a focus on decentralized staking pools. This involves increasing the minimum deposit size to 4,096 ETH, incentivizing small-stakers to participate in these pools.
As part of the second approach, Buterin proposes the creation of two layers of stakers. The first layer, referred to as the 'heavy' layer, consists of stakers with a minimum deposit of 4,096 ETH who participate in finality. The second layer, known as the 'lighter' layer, has no minimum requirement but provides an additional layer of security to the network.
The presence of two layers would likely result in fewer attacks, as corrupting both layers would be required. However, this approach may also introduce a less equal distribution of staking, potentially creating a divide between the different cohorts.
Buterin's final approach involves rotating communities, selected from the existing pool of active validators, and adjusting them every slot to enhance security.
However, the primary drawback of this approach is the increase in protocol complexity. On the other hand, it retains solo staking in a familiar format, enables a unified system, and even permits a significant reduction in the minimum deposit size, potentially as low as 1 ETH.
The developer strongly believes that reducing the number of signatures to 8,192 will greatly alleviate the current technical challenges affecting the network.
"It becomes much easier for anyone to run a consensus client, and users, staking enthusiasts and others would be able to immediately work off of that assumption,” he wrote, concluding that “The future load of the Ethereum protocol becomes no longer unknown.”
Now, the community must grapple with which approach to implement.
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