Ethereum Explores Solutions to Make Transaction Confirmation Faster

by

As a researcher with a background in blockchain technology and experience in following the developments of Ethereum, I am excited about Vitalik Buterin’s latest statements regarding Ethereum’s efforts to improve user experience and network speed. The proposed solutions, such as single slot finality (SSF) and complementary methods like rollups and preconfirmations, show that Ethereum is actively addressing the challenges of balancing decentralization and user experience.

Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum, shared in a blog post that his team is intensely focusing on enhancing Ethereum’s user experience and accelerating network speeds by shortening confirmation times to between 5 and 20 seconds. One significant approach Ethereum puts forth to tackle the speed challenge is implementing single slot finality (SSF) for transaction confirmations.

This method aims to enhance the existing slot-and-epoch mechanism by adopting characteristics similar to Tendermint’s system, where a block is validated before another one can be produced. The primary advantage of SSF (Short Finality Gap) lies in significantly reducing the time it takes for a transaction to be considered definitive, potentially bringing it down to as little as 12 seconds.

The Self-Sustaining Fee Market (SSF) faces unique hurdles, as it may necessitate each Ethereum stakeholder to validate and transmit messages every 12 seconds, potentially overwhelming them. To alleviate this burden, Buterin proposed the implementation of Orbit SSF. Orbit SSF is designed to decrease the number of validators required to authenticate each block. Although this modification could expedite ‘finality,’ users would still need to wait between 5 and 20 seconds for confirmation. As Buterin explained:

One way to rephrase this in clear and natural language is: “There are inventive solutions to address this issue, such as the Orbit SSF proposal which has recently been proposed. However, these improvements may only reduce the waiting time to 5-20 seconds instead of eliminating it entirely.”

Complementary Solutions: Rollups and Preconfirmations

Ethereum has limitations when it comes to single slot finality, but it’s not resting on its laurels. It’s exploring other ways to enhance network speed through solutions like Rollup Confirmation. Ethereum operates both a layer one and layer two blockchain. Users of the L2 blockchain can establish their own decentralized sequencing networks, resulting in quicker confirmation times for users.

An alternative method proposed to address this problem is called “Based Preconfirmation.” In this approach, the block proposer is given an opportunity to provide a confirmation service for users prior to their transactions being added to the blockchain.

A blockchain firm grapples with the task of striking a balance between decentralization and an optimal user experience. According to Buterin, if the blockchain platform adopts Proof of Stake (PoS) through the implementation of Simple Staking Fork (SSF), Orbit-like methods will ensue, resulting in fewer required validators. This development will also contribute to the network’s objective of lowering its current staking threshold of 32 ETH. Buterin expressed:

If we adopt a single-slot finality approach, we can employ Orbit-like methods to decrease the number of validators confirming per slot, while ensuring that we make significant strides towards reducing the 32 ETH staking requirement. This could potentially lead to an extended slot duration of around 16 seconds. Subsequently, to ensure quicker confirmation for users, we can utilize either rollup preconfirmations or based preconfirmations.

The co-founder admitted that the block proposal may encounter intricacies in the upcoming update. Nevertheless, he assured that the team remains committed to providing additional features for their users.

Read More

2024-07-01 13:41