Ethereum Foundation предупреждает о перегрузке сети: возможные решения для оптимизации состояния Translation: Ethereum Foundation warns of network overload: potential solutions for state optimization

The growing number of users and the expansion of the gas limit has resulted in the “inflation” of the Ethereum blockchain’s state, negatively impacting node operations. This was warned by the Ethereum Foundation (EF), which proposed several potential solutions.

The state of the protocol comprises all the data stored within the network. Node operators must load this data to track transaction history and other information essential for block validation.

As data accumulates, the cost of running a full node becomes increasingly expensive, less reliable, and more centralized, according to EF. The developers highlighted specific costs:

“Raising the gas limit exacerbates state growth, as it allows for larger entries in blocks. Other blockchains are already facing this issue. With the increasing size of the state, launching a full node becomes unrealistic for average users, leading to a concentration of power among a few major providers,” stated EF.

A long-term development strategy for Ethereum includes the concept of statelessness, which enables validators to check blocks without needing to maintain a complete blockchain history.

While this idea reduces the burden on validators and ensures higher throughput, it also shifts the responsibility for data storage to a smaller, more specialized group, potentially exposing the network to centralization risks.

The EF team suggested three potential approaches to address the problem. The first method, State Expiry, involves removing inactive data while allowing it to be restored via proofs when necessary.

Research indicates that approximately 80% of the state has remained unmodified and unused for over a year, yet all nodes still retain it in its entirety. Developers are considering two pathways:

The second method, State Archive, creates “hot” and “cold” states. The first group of data remains readily accessible, while the latter is stored separately for historical purposes and validation.

The final option, Partial Statelessness, allows nodes to maintain only “subsets” of the state, while wallets and lightweight clients cache the necessary data. This approach would reduce storage costs and lessen reliance on major RPC service providers.

It is worth recalling that in December, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called for simplifying the network from a user interface perspective.