A pressing concern for the pioneering crypto project, Ethereum, is the centralization of nodes. This sentiment was shared by Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin. Currently, a substantial portion of the 5,901 active Ethereum nodes operate via centralized web providers, like Amazon Web Services (AWS). Critics argue that this leaves the Ethereum blockchain vulnerable to a centralized point of failure.
Addressing this issue during Korea Blockchain Week, Buterin identified six areas in need of improvement to combat centralization, with the node problem being termed as a “big piece of the puzzle”. The goal is to enable people to operate nodes without technical challenges and for the Ethereum network to remain decentralized in the long run.
This led to discussions on the concept of “statelessness”, referring to the move away from reliance on centralized service providers for network activity verification. True decentralization, according to the Ethereum foundation, will be achieved only when Ethereum is operable on modest and inexpensive hardware. Buterin notes, “Statelessness forms a key component of the Ethereum roadmap”.
Buterin realistically admitted that these tech-heavy issues would not be solved quickly, possibly taking a time frame of 10 to 20 years. Meanwhile, measures towards decreasing Ethereum centralization were also mentioned, such as making documentation easier, staking more secure and overall, improving the convenience of staking Ether (ETH).
Buterin concluded with the assertion that achieving higher levels of scalability is the most pressing concern for Ethereum currently. Zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups dominate the use of Ethereum scaling protocols, improving the throughput on the main Ethereum chain by transferring computation and state-storage off-chain. While the Ethereum community views ZK rollups as a crucial tool for scalability, this highlights an ongoing struggle between centralization and scalability for cryptos, leaving room for further developments and improvements.
Overall, despite the technical challenges faced, Ethereum’s push for decentralization and scalability reflects the potential evolution of blockchain technology. This implies a hidden tug of war between maintaining truly decentralized networks and the convenience of central servers. Thus, advancements within these areas are something to be eagerly observed by all crypto enthusiasts.
Source: Cointelegraph
