The proof-of-stake consensus mechanism at the core of Ethereum, according to co-founder Vitalik Buterin, may face systemic complexity. To address this, he has three solutions.
“A PoS simplification proposal: make a design that only requires 8192 signatures per slot (even with SSF), making the consensus implementation considerably simpler and lighter,” he wrote in a post on X.
The primary problem is that to keep the network functioning properly, validators that maintain it must create a large number of digital signatures using encryption.
The network already has a lot of work to handle from this, but as additional validators join, the number of signatures will rise, adding to the system’s workload. Subsequent updates are expected to raise the required signatures even more dramatically.
On December 27, Buterin wrote a post to the Ethereum Research forum outlining three approaches to avoid this. The shared goal is to reduce the number of signatures needed for each Ethereum blockchain space to 8,192.
The first solution is centered on decentralized staking pools. This would need raising the minimum amount of ether needed to run a validator to force people running validators to collaborate and pool their resources.
Vitalik’s second solution is to have two layers of stakeholders, one with stricter criteria and the other with more lax ones would be the second strategy. During the block finalization process, the two levels would be used in distinct ways.
The third option would be to have a rotating group of participants, in which case a different group of validators is chosen at random for each slot. Although Buterin pointed out that it would increase complexity, this would divide out the workload and lower the overall number of signatures.
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