The Ethereum network may move to stateless verification as data storage and verification needs grow. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin offers two solutions for this transition – Werkle trees and STARK.
While both approaches make block verification more efficient and accessible, there are trade-offs in terms of security, efficiency, and implementation complexity.
How STARK weigh as an alternative to Verkle Trees?
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced this. released another blog explaining the possible future of the web. Buterin focused on stateless validation in this blogwhere nodes can validate blocks without storing the full Ethereum state. Speaking to The Verge, he explains what it was previously aims to improve the efficiency of the Ethereum protocol by manufacturing computational requirements for verification short. However, he adds that the goal Now consists of checking the chain using SNARK.
Werkla and STARK treesboth ways want to do computational requirements for block checking below. Meanwhile, SNARKs—short, non-interactive arguments of knowledge—are also part of Ethereum’s future.
Werkle trees will allow nodes to validate Ethereum blocks by creating compact proofs, which will reduce the need for nodes to store the entire state. However, in the future, Werkle trees may face potential limitations when using quantum computing. He believes that the complex technology is now more viable and can do without Werkle trees altogether.
Meanwhile, The Verge has two main goals. The first is to reduce the amount of data a node must store to verify Ethereum transactions. The second is to make the computational requirements for verification so low that even mobile devices and smart watches can participate in the network.
So no matter which route Ethereum chooses for stateless verification – Verkle or STARK – the goal is to solve the growing problem data size. Buterin stated, “Raw state data is growing by about 30 GB per year, and individual clients have to store some additional data on top to be able to update the tree efficiently.”
How Deploying Stateless Validation Can Simplify Node Configuration
It is noteworthy that growing The size of Ethereum data has made it difficult for stakeholders to configure and update their nodes. Because of for this reason Buterin advocates For stateless verification to solve this problem by allowing nodes to verify blocks without storing all the data. This process allows nodes to verify blocks using a witness that includes state values and cryptographic proofs. However, effective stateless verification requires replacing Ethereum’s current Merkle Patricia tree structure, as it is not ideal for creating compact, easily verifiable proofs.
But since stateless verification involves Verkle Trees or STARK, which route would be better for Ethereum? Both methods have strengths and weaknesses. Werkle trees use vector commitments based on elliptic curves, which produce compact proofs but may still be vulnerable to future quantum attacks. They are also easier to implement using the current Ethereum architecture. On the other hand, STARKs offer smaller proof sizes – around 100-300 KB compared to Verkle’s 2.6 MB – and potentially faster verification times. However, they require more computing power and are not yet be fully integrated into the Ethereum system.
Ethereum should become faster and more efficient not only for block verification, but also for other applications. It includes mempools, include lists, and light clients. All of these use cases reportedly require a large amount of evidence to verify elements such as account balances and transaction validity. Therefore, instead of STARK proofs, simpler Merkle branches can be used. Buterin clarifies that Merkle branches can be updated and this can provide an advantage.
Meanwhile, the Ethereum community needs Also navigate the remaining work. According to Buterin, it includes gas cost analysis using EIP-4762. He will note how changing gas fees for stateless customers will affect Ethereum. And since The transition to statelessness is complex, and the transition process also needs to be verified. There is also as reported need to analyze the security of new STARK-friendly hash functions such as Poseidon, which are less tested. Conducting security analysis of new hash functions and verification systems such as SHA256 is also an important step.
Ethereum will have to think about quantum security cryptography
According to Buterin, 3 Werkle algorithms, STARK with conservative hash functions and with new hash functions have tradeoffs. He explains that Werkle trees are the most ready to deploy, but they are not quantum-resistant and are more difficult to prove in advanced systems like SNARK.
Hash-based approaches (STARK) can provide faster node synchronization, but the technology still requires further development and security analysis. Werkle trees also make it easy to update (useful for mempools and inclusion lists), but are more difficult to work with for some advanced cryptographic proofs (SNARKs).
To deal with these trade-offs, Buterin proposes lattice-based Merkle trees. become quantum safe alternative. However, integration This It will be difficult in the current structure of Ethereum. Another option: introduce multidimensional gas to split the efficiency gap between the average and worst-case scenarios. This means that multi-dimensional gas could allow Ethereum to reduce the number of hashes needed in edge cases. In this case, Ethereum can postpone the calculation of the root of the state until the next block and increase the time. accessible generate evidence.
The Path to Ethereum Scalability Will Be About Storage cargo
Buterin’s blog also highlights that proving the validity of EVMs currently faces security challenges and proving time. The problem of scalability and decentralization of Ethereum is also related to the solution challenges generating evidence. EIP-4444 proposes to implement stateless checking and history expiration to reduce the storage burden on clients. Besides to thiscurrent evidence of validity needs optimization to improve speed and efficiency. Buterin suggests strategies such as parallelization and usage modern equipment that helps speed up this process.
The Verge will be a transformation for Ethereum with a focus on statelessness and efficient verification. STARK compatibility will reportedly be important for several other upgrades to the PoS network to scale it up. With anything challenges remain, but there are also trade-offs associated with the adoption of these technologies.
