News
The ETH team lead says that most ETH clients “very aggressively” delete old data
Ethereum team lead Péter Szilágyi says many Ethereum clients “very aggressively” delete old chain segments, raising questions about the network’s dependency on Geth.
Ethereum software customer Geth (also known as Go Ethereum) remains a focal point of discussion, as Ethereum team leader Péter Szilágyi has raised concerns about the growing reliance on Geth, highlighting the broader implications for data availability and network decentralization.
I wanted to respond directly, but I thought it was a cool thing to expand on a bit, so here’s a top-level tweet instead.
Bitcoiners have hated us forever because we redefined what full nodes mean (to us). We didn’t do this for some hidden reason, simply the storage model was… https://t.co/e7YotRRFfC
— Péter Szilágyi (karalabe.eth) (@peter_szilagyi) May 27, 2024
In an X message On May 27, Szilágyi addressed the complex dynamics surrounding Ethereum’s storage infrastructure, highlighting parallels to the controversial debates that have long surrounded the development of Bitcoin.
Szilágyi’s concern centers on Ethereum’s growing reliance on Geth for data storage, particularly as the platform looks to scale. The Ethereum team leader pointed out a divergence among Ethereum customers, with many besides Geth choosing to “aggressively” remove old segments of the chain, because they are “unneeded.”
“Most other clients besides Geth started very aggressively deleting old segments of the chain, because they were no longer needed. The reasoning is that you can rework the chain, then do the ‘full sync’, but there’s no need to keep the data (yes, because Geth keeps it for us, losers).”
Pietro Szilágyi
While this strategy may offer short-term benefits in terms of storage optimization, Szilágyi raised profound questions about the long-term resilience and decentralization of the Ethereum network.
He particularly warned of the inherent risks associated with data dependency and the potential consequences of widespread data deletion, saying that “data always tends to disappear, never reappears, so the more people discard something, the less likely it is that the rest of the nodes are eliminated.” be willing to store/serve it yourself; and it will be more difficult to find those few who are willing to serve him.”
Ethereum Customers | Source: Ethernodes
The Ethereum community has long grappled with concerns regarding Ethereum customer dependency.
According to data from Ethernodes, more than 40% of Ethereum customers depend on Geth, with nearly 38% on Nethermind, another software client in the Ethereum ecosystem. As a result, the problem of Ethereum client dependency arose required Major cryptocurrency companies like Coinbase explore alternative customers for running Ethereum in order to diversify their infrastructure.