Vitalik Buterin Puts Forward a Proposal to Enhance Ethereum’s Transaction Speed
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has suggested a new transaction mechanism for the Ethereum network in order to reduce confirmation times, addressing a common concern among Ethereum users. In a blog post on June 30, Buterin proposed transitioning from the current epoch-and-slot mechanism to a single-slot finality (SSF) system, outlining the advantages and challenges associated with this change.
Buterin highlighted the positive impact of the Ethereum Merge, which saw the network transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in 2022. This shift already reduced layer-1 (L1) transaction confirmation times to 5-20 seconds, comparable to credit card transaction speeds. However, Buterin believes that further optimizations are needed to enhance the user experience.
The current slot-and-epoch mechanism used by Ethereum involves a 12-second slot in which a randomly selected validator proposes a block. An epoch consists of 32 slots, during which a committee of validators completes the validation process. This system ensures finality by requiring the burning of 33% of the total staked Ether in order to alter a block.
Buterin acknowledged the complexities of the current slot-and-epoch system, including its vulnerability to bugs and the lengthy finality time of 12.8 minutes. To address these issues, he proposed transitioning to a single-slot finality (SSF) system, similar to the Tendermint consensus mechanism. The SSF system would include an inactivity leak feature to maintain chain continuity in the event that validators go offline.
The Tendermint consensus mechanism is a Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) protocol that ensures network agreement through voting rounds, allowing for secure and consistent blockchain state updates even in the presence of malicious or faulty nodes.
However, Buterin also pointed out potential challenges with the SSF approach. With this system, every Ethereum staker would need to publish two messages every 12 seconds, which could lead to increased network congestion.
In conclusion, while the SSF system offers promising improvements, Buterin emphasized that Ethereum is still exploring other methods to optimize transaction speeds. He also highlighted the importance of providing more options to enhance user experience on both the L1 and L2 layers, as well as simplifying the development process for L2 developers.
By introducing the SSF system, Buterin aims to make Ethereum’s transaction confirmation process more efficient, potentially revolutionizing the network’s performance and user experience. However, further exploration and testing are required to ensure a seamless implementation.