Vitalik Buterin Highlights the Benefits of Verkle Trees

Individual stakers and node operators in the Ethereum network stand to benefit from the implementation of Verkle trees, according to Vitalik Buterin.

I’m really looking forward to Verkle trees. They will enable stateless validator clients, which can allow staking nodes to run with near-zero hard disk space and sync nearly instantly — far better solo staking UX. Also good for user-facing light clients.https://t.co/Bg2KXH07Id

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 18, 2024

“I’m really looking forward to Verkle trees. They will enable stateless validator clients, allowing staking nodes to operate with minimal hard disk space and almost instant synchronization [with the blockchain],” the developer noted.

Verkle trees are a data structuring algorithm in the protocol, similar to Merkle trees. Their main distinction lies in each node using a special type of hash, known as a vector commitment, to secure child nodes.

Specifically, the solution optimizes on-chain data storage and node size. However, Buterin highlighted its key feature as “much more size-efficient proofs,” as the mechanism allows verification of any block using only the data it contains.

This approach to verification significantly reduces the technical requirements for validators, which could lead to increased node diversity and greater network decentralization in the future.

The integration of this new data structure is part of Ethereum’s roadmap. The introduction of Verkle trees is scheduled for the third phase, known as The Verge.

The Ethereum co-founder emphasized that the update will also enhance the solo staking experience by optimizing the user interface and adding new functionality to client software.

Earlier, blockchain developers approved the deployment date for Dencun (Deneb-Cancun) on the mainnet — March 13. A major component of the upgrade is EIP-4844, which includes the Proto-Danksharding option aimed at scaling the network.

Back on February 7, the Ethereum team successfully implemented Dencun on the Holesky testnet.