Vitalik Buterin returned to the possibility of using zkEVMs in the block verification process on Ethereum. This would allow for greater network decentralization, making it easier for more people to maintain a node.
The decentralization of clients on Ethereum (ETH)
In his last blog post, Vitalik Buterin returned to the opportunity that zkEVMs could represent in the construction of clients used for the consensus layer, in order to check the validity of the blocks on Ethereum.
Before detailing the advantages, he returned to the importance of decentralization at the level of these customers. In short: if a hardware failure were to occur on one of them, the verification of the validity of the blocks would not be called into question, because it is unlikely that all other clients will experience the same failure at the same time.
The illustration below shows the different software used for the consensus layer on the left, and none of them represents more than two-thirds of the network. Conversely, we observe a weak decentralization in the software used for the execution layer, although this is not the subject:
Diversification of clients used by Ethereum nodes
Moreover, the other advantage of having a correct diversification on different clients limits the “political” risk that the developers of this software can represent. Indeed, if a single client concentrates the majority of the nodes, its developer would have more weight to pass the measures of its choice on the future of Ethereum, potentially to the detriment of the community.
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Ethereum clients built on zkEVMs
Interest in a future with different zkEVMs as consensus layer clients is to serve an ever greater decentralization.
Indeed, the nodes on which the validity of Ethereum blocks is checked now operate on layer 1: the mainnet. This is therefore very cumbersome to verify and limits the number of people who can mount a full node for this operation.
Conversely, if this verification were deported to a layer 2 such as a zkEVM, it would require far fewer resources, and could even be performed on a smartphone. This is the whole point of The Verge stage regarding the future of Ethereum which should increase decentralization significantly.
Nevertheless, such a future will not see the light of day for several years and will be built over the updates. Indeed, the generation of SNARK proof in real time is currently not allowed by zkEVMs, which can take up to several hours to verify an Ethereum block.
This is why this must first go through an improvement to the Ethereum blockchain itselfwhich could notably be implemented through sharding in the next big step to come: The Surge.
Vitalik Buterin is thus confident in this future, despite the difficulties to be overcome:
“However, there is no fundamental technological reason why this cannot be done, and so I expect it to be done even if it takes many years. »
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Sources: Vitalik Buterin, Client Diversity
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I timidly discovered the world of blockchain at the end of 2018 during my quest for financial freedom. Initially invested moderately, it was only two years later that I took the gamble of betting everything on the movement that was taking shape then. I then dedicate 2021 to training myself better to acquire more knowledge and seriousness. As I often like to say: I still have a billion things to learn. And what I do know, I want to share with you.
Vincent Mayor
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