Key Points
- Ethereum faces growing challenges with bloat in both historical data (currently 1.1TB for full nodes) and protocol features, leading to a strategic initiative called “The Purge” aimed at reducing complexity while maintaining blockchain permanence
- Two major approaches to state expiry are being considered: partial state expiry which keeps minimal commitments, and address-period-based expiry which introduces new address formats – both aimed at preventing indefinite state growth
The Storage Crisis and History Expiry Solution
Ethereum’s core developers are tackling the network’s growing storage requirements head-on, with current full nodes requiring approximately 1.1 terabytes for the execution client and additional hundreds of gigabytes for the consensus client. Buterin outlines a progressive approach to history expiry, where nodes would only be required to store recent history (around 1 year of data through EIP-4444), while older data would be distributed across the network using torrent-like systems. This approach could maintain the same level of data replication while making node operation more accessible.
State Expiry: A Two-Pronged Approach
The post details two potential solutions for managing state growth. The first, partial state expiry, would organize state data into chunks, with only recently accessed data being actively stored by nodes. The second, more ambitious approach introduces address-period-based state expiry, which would create a rolling system of state trees with new addresses containing period numbers. Both approaches aim to solve the challenge of indefinite state growth while preserving user accessibility and developer familiarity.
Protocol Simplification and Feature Cleanup
Buterin emphasizes the importance of reducing protocol complexity over time, highlighting several opportunities for simplification. These include transitioning from RLP to SSZ encoding, removing underutilized transaction types and precompiles, and harmonizing data formats across the protocol. The proposal suggests a structured approach to removing features, with a multi-year pipeline from initial discussion to final removal, ensuring minimal disruption to existing applications.
The post reflects Ethereum’s commitment to long-term sustainability and accessibility, with Buterin noting that these changes could eventually enable running an Ethereum node “on a smart watch.” However, he acknowledges the delicate balance between maintaining backwards compatibility and necessary protocol evolution, suggesting that some difficult decisions may need to be made for the greater good of the network’s future.
This detailed roadmap represents one of the most significant proposed overhauls of Ethereum’s technical architecture since the transition to proof-of-stake, demonstrating the project’s continued focus on scalability and sustainability while maintaining its core value proposition of decentralization and permanence.
