The future of Ethereum: Co-founder proposes faster transactions and accessible staking

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin detailed significant proposals to improve Ether’s proof of stake (PoS) system. In a blog post, Buterin commented on the progress of the decentralized blockchain since the transition from proof of work to proof of stake nearly two years ago. While advances have been made, he aims to prevent stagnation.

Two specific updates are at the core of the new plan:

• Single-slot finality
• Democratization of staking

In short, if the changes can be successfully implemented, the goal is to increase the efficiency and accessibility of Ethereum’s operational functionalities. Regarding single-slot finality, the existing PoS mechanism requires 2 to 3 epochs (typically 15 minutes) to finalize a block, which can be an issue for users seeking quick transactions.

Buterin stated that single-slot finality could complete a block in just 12 seconds, putting Ethereum on par with other centralized chains.

Additionally, the co-founder added that this improvement would reduce the chances of chain reversion, where previously confirmed blocks are undone, while also making Ether more secure in real-time applications.

This change is possible, but it will bring new challenges. One major pressure would be managing the high number of validators without overwhelming the demand on node operators.

A possible solution would be the “Orbit Committee” mechanism, which randomly selects a medium-sized group of validators to finalize the chains.

Possible futures of the Ethereum protocol, part 1: the Mergehttps://t.co/JycODdM4wW

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) October 14, 2024

Buterin and the democratization of staking

Canadian programmer Buterin, recently nominated for the upcoming Nobel Prize in Economics, also outlined his plans to democratize staking.

He proposes lowering the staking threshold from 32 ETH to 1 ETH, which would open staking to a larger group of participants who would normally not have access to it, especially those without large amounts of Ether.

“Survey after survey repeatedly shows that the main factor preventing more people from staking on their own is the 32 ETH minimum,” stated Buterin.

Ultimately, this would also ensure that users rely less on centralized intermediaries or staking pools.