Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin revealed details about the network’s upcoming upgrade, dubbed The Verge, which seeks to upgrade both the security and accessibility of Ethereum.
A key focus of the upgrade is to allow nodes to run on smaller devices like phones and smartwatches by introducing stateless verification, reducing hardware requirements for users and solo stakers.
One of Ethereum’s current challenges is the massive amount of data needed to operate a node, which requires storing “hundreds of gigabytes of state data.” The Verge will address this through stateless verification, enabling nodes to verify blockchain blocks without storing large volumes of data.
This shift will lower the technical barriers to running a node, making it easier for mobile wallets, browser wallets, and even smartwatches to participate in verifying the Ethereum blockchain by default.
Buterin highlighted that The Verge would initially implement Verkle trees, a cryptographic structure that reduces the size of proofs, enabling more efficient, stateless validation. However, he acknowledged concerns about the vulnerability of Verkle trees to quantum computing. In response, developers are exploring alternatives like STARK-based binary hash trees, which offer better long-term security and scalability in the face of quantum computing threats.
The Verge will also introduce changes to Ethereum’s gas cost system under Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-4762, ensuring that resource-heavy cryptographic operations are more efficiently priced. This multidimensional gas system will separate costs for call data, computation, and state access to better manage Ethereum’s resources, helping to ensure scalability and security.
By reducing the hardware requirements and improving resource management, Buterin hopes The Verge will make solo staking more accessible, allowing a wider range of participants to run nodes and contribute to the security of the Ethereum network.
