Crypto News :
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has highlighted an issue with the platform that can’t be solved solely through layer-2 scaling. In a blog post, Buterin stated that verifying mainnet transactions presents a challenge, resulting in few users being able to run their nodes and instead relying on trusted third parties. While lightweight clients are available, it’s difficult to verify if an Ethereum validator follows established protocol rules.
To address this problem, Buterin suggests two options that could solve layer-1 verification problems on-chain while improving scalability. The first option involves constraining the mainnet and forcing activity to layer-2. However, this could render many existing L1-based applications economically unfeasible and may result in high fees, causing user funds to get stuck.
The second option proposes using Succinct Non-interactive Argument of Knowledge (SNARK) to verify the mainnet through a zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM). However, generating proofs in real-time would require significant improvements through specialized hardware or architectural improvements.
If pursued, the best path would be an open multi-zkEVM option where different clients have different zkEVM implementations, with each client waiting for compatible proof before accepting a block as valid. Although this approach would require significant improvements in Ethereum’s efficiency and parallelization, Buterin believes this path is practical due to technological advancements.
These proposals aim to solve the verification problem on-chain and improve scalability and accessibility in Ethereum. Polygon launched its zkEVM mainnet beta early this week, with plans to open-source the technology to spur more developments.
