Ethereum's cofounder Vitalik Buterin has proposed incorporating Utreexo, a technique developed by Bitcoin developers, to improve Ethereum's scalability. Utreexo, designed by Tadge Dryja in 2019, reduces the amount of data nodes need to store to verify a blockchain by using a compact accumulator based on cryptographic hashes. Buterin suggests combining the benefits of UTXO-style state, dynamic state, and intermediate solutions to enable hyperscaling without compromising decentralization.
Background on Utreexo
Utreexo represents the set of unspent transaction outputs (UTXO) using a compact accumulator, allowing each transaction to include its own proof of inclusion, verifiable without storing the entire dataset. This approach enables a more lightweight node, easier to run independently.
Proposed Ethereum Scaling Strategy
Buterin's proposal involves marrying multiple state models, rather than choosing one, to achieve scalability. This strategy is still in the conceptual phase, with no implementation timeline. Meanwhile, Ethereum researcher Toni Wahrstätter has proposed native UTXO for Ethereum, targeting simple payments and potentially reducing storage requirements by 99.8%.
Ongoing Research
Buterin is also working on a separate project to improve proof bandwidth, using recursive STARKs to aggregate proofs and reduce bandwidth requirements. While some commentators see potential for unlimited transaction volume, these are distinct research projects addressing different bottlenecks.
