Buterin emphasized that these proposals provide credible ways to limit the number of signatures without compromising security or showing favoritism.
ethereum wants to simplify its proof-of-stake model for greater efficiency. Right now, validation of transactions on the ethereum blockchain is done by a large number of validator nodes, around 895,000 of them, and they generate around 28,000 signatures in each time slot. This huge number of signatures puts pressure on the network and makes it difficult to make improvements.
As Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of ethereum, states, he pointed, having such a large number of validators creates technical challenges. The large volume of signatures makes it difficult to make changes such as view merging, which is when multiple signatures are combined to speed up block propagation. Dealing with all of these signatures also takes longer, so additional subslots are needed to finalize the blocks.
On top of that, processing all these signatures makes it difficult to implement some updates to the protocol. There are still no efficient alternatives available to handle the numerous signature validations that occur in each slot. Beyond the protocol itself, the huge number of signatures also carries a high requirement that only a few operators can reliably provide. If the number of validators continues to grow, it could overwhelm the nodes' capabilities.
Buterin proposes changes aimed at simplifying the proof-of-stake mechanism
Buterin has suggested limiting the number of active validators and, consequently, the number of signatures in each slot. The main idea is to reduce the signatures to around 8,192, which represents a decrease of more than 65% compared to the current 28,000. This significant reduction in the volume of signatures would greatly simplify protocol development and node operation.
A PoS simplification proposal: make a design that only requires 8192 signatures per slot (even with SSF), making consensus implementation considerably simpler and lighter.https://t.co/Z8mK7vZx7g
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 27, 2023
The proposals also describe different strategies to limit the participation of validators while maintaining adequate security levels. One approach suggests using decentralized staking pools with a minimum balance requirement of 4096 eth and a total number of 4096 validators. Smaller holders would delegate their holdings to accredited pools that meet the higher balance requirement.
Another suggestion is a two-tier participation model. A “light” committee made up of the majority of the decentralized groups (with more than 50% consensus) would finalize the blocks generated by the broader group of validators. There is also the idea of rotating staking committees, where subsets of validators are randomly selected based on their balance. Validators with larger balances always qualify, while validators with smaller balances have the chance to be assigned based on fractional odds.
Emphasis placed on Blockchain security
Buterin emphasized that these proposals provide credible ways to limit the number of signatures without compromising security or showing favoritism. The focus is on maintaining a functional system before pursuing ambitious goals that could jeopardize stability. Prioritizing the security and finality of transactions allows for measured progress that stays true to these core goals.
If future advances allow the number of signatures to be scaled without problems, the limit could be reconsidered. But for now, the goal is to reach an achievable goal that promotes reliable progress.
The coming months will reveal how the community finds a balance between decentralization, efficiency, and the cost of participating in ethereum's proof-of-stake system.
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