Vitalik Suggests Partially Stateless Nodes to Help Scale Ethereum

Ethereum is growing rapidly, but this expansion makes it increasingly difficult for regular users to operate full nodes, which demand significant storage and maintenance. To tackle this, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has introduced the idea of “partially stateless nodes”—a streamlined way for users to stay connected without storing all blockchain data.

Running a full Ethereum node is challenging because it requires storing an ever-growing amount of data. As Ethereum scales and handles more transactions, maintaining full nodes becomes more demanding, potentially putting the network’s decentralization at risk. Currently, many users rely on third-party RPC services to access Ethereum data, which raises concerns about trust, censorship, and privacy. Vitalik aims to solve these issues by rethinking how nodes operate.

The proposal allows users to run lightweight nodes that only track the parts of the Ethereum state relevant to them, such as particular wallets, tokens, or applications. Thanks to cryptographic methods, users can access necessary information on demand without storing the entire dataset locally. They can configure which data their node retains via a config file or by storing preferences directly on the blockchain. This way, users can retrieve and verify information efficiently, without having to hold all the data on their devices.

Vitalik also suggests enhancements to make this transition smoother. For instance, he proposes updating EIP-4444 to reduce node data sizes, implementing higher gas fees for transactions that consume excessive storage, and encouraging solutions for preserving older data across multiple networks.

Vitalik envisions this approach simplifying Ethereum use while strengthening its decentralization. By enabling more people to run nodes with less resource demand, users can maintain privacy and independence as the network grows. This innovative idea has the potential to significantly influence how we interact with Ethereum daily.