- Vitalik’s partial stateless nodes cut ETH node costs; BTC could see similar scalability boosts to counter centralization risks.
- ETH’s RPC censorship fix may inspire BTC upgrades, balancing decentralization with resource demands as crypto adoption grows.
Vitalik Buterin has outlined a method to reduce reliance on centralized data providers while easing hardware requirements for node operators. The proposal, detailed in a May 19 blog post, introduces “partially stateless nodes,” which store only portions of blockchain data relevant to users’ activities.
Centralized RPC Providers Raise Censorship Concerns
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) services, which act as intermediaries for users accessing Ethereum, have become concentrated among a few providers. Buterin noted these services increasingly block access in certain regions, contradicting Ethereum’s decentralized principles. Centralized control, he argued, risks enabling censorship and eroding trust in the network.
Traditional Ethereum nodes store the blockchain’s full history and verification proofs, demanding substantial storage and bandwidth. Buterin’s design allows nodes to retain data tied to specific accounts, apps, or assets—such as ETH or stablecoins—while ignoring unrelated segments. Queries outside stored data would either fail or route through external RPCs, lowering hardware costs.
For example, a user interacting primarily with decentralized exchanges could configure their node to store liquidity pool contracts and wallet addresses, bypassing less relevant data.
The approach aims to lower barriers for individuals and smaller entities to run nodes, potentially decentralizing the network. However, nodes handling uncommon queries would still depend on third-party RPCs. Buterin acknowledged this limitation but emphasized that localized data storage could minimize such reliance over time.
Adopting partially stateless nodes requires protocol adjustments, including new standards for managing data subsets. Developers would need to modify how Ethereum processes state transitions and user requests, a process likely spanning multiple upgrades.
Some praise the practicality of reducing hardware costs, while others question the complexity of integrating selective data rules. Easing node operation costs could attract more participants to Ethereum’s network, strengthening its decentralization narrative. Reduced reliance on RPCs may also mitigate regulatory risks tied to centralized intermediaries, aligning with broader industry efforts to resist censorship.
“Partially Stateless Nodes” to Address Ethereum’s Scalability and Centralization Challenges
Ethereum’s reliance on full nodes—computers that store the blockchain’s entire history and validate transactions—has long been a cornerstone of its decentralized design. However, the growing resource demands of running these nodes, including significant storage and bandwidth requirements, have made them inaccessible to many users. This has led to increased dependence on centralized Remote Procedure Call (RPC) providers, third-party services that act as intermediaries for accessing blockchain data.
By ignoring irrelevant data—such as spam contracts or outdated records—these nodes reduce hardware costs and bandwidth requirements. For queries outside their stored data, nodes could either fail or route requests through external RPCs, though the latter would ideally use encryption to protect privacy.
The benefits of partially stateless nodes extend beyond accessibility. By reducing reliance on centralized RPCs, users gain stronger privacy protections, as their query patterns and IP addresses are less exposed.
