With the arrival of the beacon chain in 2020, Ethereum today supports two types of clients: those that focus on the execution layer (often referred to as eth1) and those that drive proof-of-stake consensus layer (also known as eth2). As those running validators well know (since they run both types of clients), each has a specific purpose and feeds a different part of an Ethereum.
Recognizing the importance that both sets of customers represent to the long-term health and diversity of the Ethereum network, our work to support the full customer landscape is critical to our work in the ecosystem.
Layer-specific customer support updates
the execution layer
In 2021, the Ethereum Foundation plans to allocate at least $4 million USD to execution layer client teams.
These grants, the first of which have been distributed, support the following client teams: Better, Geth (Go to Ethereum), nether mind, Open EthereumY Turbo Geth.
It was clear even in the early days of Ethereum that a greater diversity of customers helped strengthen Ethereum at its core. For this reason, today we reaffirm our support for their work with this first step towards sustainability.
the consensus layer
In 2021, the EF is allocating at least $4.5 million was spent on customer equipment, as detailed in previous posts (ESP 2020 Allocation Updates, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4). Additionally, support may be announced in periodic investigations and ecosystem support program updates throughout the year for audits, formal verification, testing, bug bounties, tools, and other community support.
The consensus layer today has four clients, Lighthouse, Sea, Prism Y Cloud which are online and have been stable since the launch of the beacon chain in December. At the time of writing, these clients have made it possible to secure the beacon chain with more than 3.5mm of Ether, which are supplied by more than 110,000 active validators. This feat and the achievements of these teams to date cannot be overstated. 👏
In addition, a fifth client, Polar Starhas provided quality javascript tools (already used by various browsers and other Beacon Chain tracking tools) and other API standardization, and aims to bring Beacon Chain Light clients to production this year.
Our support in 2021 will primarily target these five customers, with other opportunities possible as development progresses.
moving forward together
What Danny Ryan explained in his recent post Finished #23, “As a beacon chain participant, you need an Ethereum PoW endpoint to successfully perform all of your various functions as a validator.” This means that today and after the merger, both types of customers are required to power the network. And because the familiar execution layer technology remains regardless of changes to the consensus, no action is required by dapps, developers, or users to continue using Ethereum as they always have. In short, both types of clients are still needed, and Ethereum’s long-term strength, health, and decentralization succeed as long as they succeed.
In recent months, we have seen new interest and innovation in Ethereum, and surely more is on the horizon. As network usage increases and Ethereum’s potential appears even more vast, sustainable support of open source software at both layers is essential and we look forward to providing further updates on our work in this area. 🚀
