Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum, has laid out a long-term plan for the decentralization and scalability of Ethereum. Buterin put forth an answer based mostly on Ethereum Enchancment Proposal (EIP) 3668 in response to worries relating to the rising complexity of working gentle purchasers in an ecosystem that’s rollup-centric.
The effectivity and decentralization of Layer-2 (L2) networks’ state proof verification may very well be revolutionized by this methodology. As Ethereum scales horizontally by rollups, the Ethereum group raised the query of how wallets and apps will handle quite a few gentle purchasers. With out relying on centralized third events, builders are scuffling with the way to successfully embed and validate state proofs in gentle of the anticipated progress of rollup-based scaling options.

Utilizing an Ethereum Request for Remark (ERC) akin to EIP-3668 is Buterin’s advised treatment. This might allow L2 networks to ascertain an on-chain configuration contract that outlines the Ethereum Digital Machine (EVM) code used to validate state proofs. Put extra merely, Ethereum would allow a common L2 gentle shopper by giving L2 networks a standardized technique of speaking proof verification mechanisms.
Utilizing a peer-to-peer (P2P) community, this common gentle shopper would request proofs and use the on-chain EVM code to confirm them. Along with growing effectivity and decentralization, this strategy lessens dependency on exterior middlemen. Just a few builders have recognized attainable points such because the absence of uniformity for provers and proofs throughout varied rollups.
To ensure compatibility throughout Ethereum’s heterogeneous L2 ecosystem, implementing a common gentle shopper would necessitate appreciable wrangling fixed updates and a robust specification. Buterin retorted that the proof format could be byte-based, enabling the proof verification perform of every L2 to interpret the information as required. Buterin claims that this adaptability makes the method simpler and ensures that verification stays decentralized and versatile.