Vitalik Buterin is one of the main references when it comes to development in Ethereum. In the last few hours, the developer shared a proposal to make certain changes to the network's consensus algorithm to make it more efficient.

In the aforementioned proposal, Vitalik Buterin proposes to reconsider the need to process a large number of signatures per slot in Ethereum, with a maximum of 8,192 signatures. In the context of the Proof of Stake (PoS) that the network relies on to operate, a slot is a certain point in the block construction process at which a validator can propose and build a block.

Ethereum currently has 895,000 validators and processes around 28,000 signatures per slot which creates a significant technical load on the network, resulting in slower and more expensive transactions, as well as higher hardware requirements for validator nodes.

In that sense, Buterin argues that this makes it difficult for Ethereum to meet its goal of real decentralization, added to the fact that the minimum requirement to participate in staking remains high, with a deposit of 32 ethers (ETH). It should be noted that you can participate in staking pools at a lower cost, but that is not a decentralized alternative either.

Changes to Ethereum PoS

In November, Buterin himself proposed moving towards a "better PoS" in Ethereum. The publication of Wednesday, December 27 gives shape to that intention, and has three significant focuses.

• The first is to prioritize decentralized staking pools, abandon the idea of ​​individual staking and focus on staking through decentralized pools. This involves increasing the minimum deposit to 4,096 ETH and limiting the total number of validators to 4,096.
• The second idea is dividing the staking into two levels. In that model, there would be two layers of stakers , one "heavy" with minimum requirements, and another "light", without minimum requirements. Both layers must validate a block to finalize it, which provides additional security.
• The third of Buterin is to enable a rotating participation in staking through responsible committees. This involves selecting 4,096 active validators in each slot, with the possibility of participating in the committee depending on the amount of ETH they possess. Validators with more ETH have a higher probability of participating in each slot .

Buterin argues that these approaches could simplify technical implementation and address problems such as quantum resistance. Thus, “it becomes much easier for anyone to run a consensus client, and users, staking enthusiasts and others, could immediately work with that assumption". He then concludes that “the future load of the Ethereum protocol is no longer unknown” by establishing a cap on the signatures that must be processed in each slot. .