Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has outlined the next steps for simplifying the protocol and reducing the resource load on nodes in what he calls “The Purge.” This stage of the Ethereum transition involves removing old and unnecessary network history to streamline the network over time.
In addition to reducing historical data storage, The Purge also significantly reduces the hard disk requirements for node operators and the technical debt of the Ethereum protocol.
During the recent Dencun hard fork, Buterin introduced Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-6780, which eliminated most of the “SELFDESTRUCT” code functions. This move simplified the protocol by removing complexity and adding new security guarantees. As a result of this implementation, each Ethereum block will have a higher number of storage slots, and Buterin hopes to completely eliminate the SELFDESTRUCT code with a future EIP.
To limit the amount of historical data stored, The Purge will introduce history expiration through EIP-4444. This will allow nodes to prune historical blocks that are over a year old. The historical data will only be required when a peer needs to synchronize with the head of the chain or when specifically requested.
By implementing EIP-4444, Buterin believes that Ethereum’s node decentralization can be greatly increased.
Buterin also mentioned that Geth, the most popular Ethereum client, has recently removed thousands of lines of code by dropping support for pre-Merge (PoW) networks. Additionally, post-Dencun, there will be an 18-day storage window for blobs, reducing node data bandwidth to 50 gigabytes.
Furthermore, Buterin discussed the need to purge precompile Ethereum contracts. These contracts are used for implementing complex forms of cryptography that cannot be executed by the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). However, the demand for these contracts has declined, and they have become a source of consensus bugs and difficulties for new EVM implementations.
Overall, these steps outlined by Buterin aim to simplify the Ethereum protocol, reduce resource load on nodes, and enhance the overall efficiency and security of the network.