Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Proposes 10-100x Gas Limit Increase With Stateless Nodes

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has introduced a new roadmap aimed at addressing the Layer 1 (L1) scaling challenges of the Ethereum network. The proposal focuses on increasing gas limits and introduces the concept of stateless nodes, which have limited network state storage capabilities. Buterin highlights that one of the primary concerns with increasing the L1 gas limit is the difficulty it poses for users to run full nodes, which are crucial for maintaining a secure, censorship-resistant, and confidential blockchain.

To mitigate this issue, Buterin suggests several short-term priorities. One key proposal is the implementation of EIP-4444, a protocol that limits nodes to storing historical data for only the last 36 days. This reduction in disk space requirements would make it easier for network participants to operate nodes without the need for extensive storage. Currently, running a full Ethereum node requires storing approximately 1 terabyte of state data and 500 gigabytes of historical data. EIP-4444 aims to offload historical data storage, thereby making nodes lighter and more accessible.

In addition to EIP-4444, Buterin proposes creating a distributed solution for storing historical data and adjusting gas prices to make storage more expensive while reducing the cost of execution. These changes are designed to incentivize more efficient use of the blockchain, further enhancing its scalability. Buterin's roadmap also includes the concept of stateless nodes as a medium-term change. These nodes would interact with the blockchain without maintaining the Merkle branches used to check data integrity, potentially reducing storage needs by about 50%. This innovation could make it much easier for nodes to operate and increase the L1 gas limit by 10 to 100 times, as they would store only a selected subset of data while retaining the ability to execute queries related to that data.

Buterin's proposal addresses the long-standing debate within the Ethereum ecosystem about increasing the L1 gas limit. While doing so could significantly enhance network throughput, it also poses risks to decentralization and node availability. By introducing partially stateless nodes, Buterin aims to balance scalability with user accessibility, ensuring that the Ethereum network remains decentralized and secure while becoming more efficient and user-friendly. These technological solutions could have a significant impact on Ethereum's scaling prospects, making it more accessible to a broader range of users and enhancing its overall performance.