Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has unveiled a groundbreaking proposal aimed at preserving Ethereum’s core principles—trustlessness and censorship resistance—even as the network scales to accommodate growing demand. In a recent post published on May 19, Buterin outlined a novel approach to make Ethereum’s Layer 1 more accessible and user-friendly for individual node operators, emphasizing the critical importance of decentralized infrastructure.
As Ethereum continues to evolve through upgrades like the Merge and upcoming scalability enhancements, concerns have grown over centralization risks tied to node operation. Currently, many users rely on remote procedure call (RPC) providers to interact with the blockchain without running their own nodes. While convenient, this model introduces significant vulnerabilities.
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The Risks of Centralized RPC Providers
RPC providers act as gateways between wallets, applications, and the Ethereum blockchain. Most crypto wallets silently connect to third-party RPC services in the background, abstracting away the complexity of node management. However, Buterin warns that this convenience comes at a cost.
He highlights that a market dominated by a few major RPC providers creates a single point of failure—and potential censorship. There have already been documented cases where certain RPC services blocked access for users in specific regions, undermining Ethereum’s promise of open, permissionless access.
“A market dominated by a small number of RPC providers faces strong pressure to block or censor users. Several providers have already completely excluded users from certain countries,” Buterin stated.
This reliance on centralized intermediaries threatens the foundational ethos of blockchain technology: user sovereignty. To counteract this trend, Buterin advocates for empowering individuals to run their own nodes efficiently and privately.
Introducing Partially Stateless Nodes
To address these challenges, Buterin proposes a new type of node architecture: partially stateless nodes. This innovative design aims to reduce the resource burden of running a full node while preserving trustless validation and privacy.
Traditional full nodes must store the entire Ethereum state—currently tens of terabytes and growing—which makes them impractical for most individual users. In contrast, partially stateless nodes only maintain a user-defined subset of the blockchain state, significantly lowering hardware and bandwidth requirements.
These nodes operate in a stateless manner when validating blocks, meaning they do not need to store complete Merkle proofs or historical data. Instead, they selectively retain updates relevant to the user’s personal interactions—such as their wallet addresses, frequently used DeFi protocols, and common tokens like stablecoins and ETH.
For example:
- A user primarily interacting with Uniswap and Aave can configure their node to store only data related to those platforms.
- Transactions involving other contracts or addresses fall outside the stored subset and are either ignored or routed through external RPC fallbacks if needed.
This selective storage model enables lightweight operation without sacrificing control over personal data access.
Enhancing Privacy and Reducing Costs
One of the key advantages of partially stateless nodes is improved metadata privacy. When users rely on third-party RPCs, every query they make—such as checking balances or transaction history—can be logged and potentially exploited. By running a local node, even a partially stateless one, users eliminate this surveillance vector.
Additionally, Buterin notes that fully stateless systems, while theoretically ideal, come with high computational overhead. Partial statelessness strikes a practical balance—offering substantial resource savings while maintaining sufficient decentralization and security for everyday use.
The proposal also aligns with broader Ethereum scalability goals. As Layer 2 solutions offload computation and Layer 1 handles finality, ensuring that individual users can still verify the chain independently becomes even more crucial. Without accessible node options, verification power could concentrate in the hands of large institutions.
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How It Fits Into Ethereum’s Long-Term Vision
Buterin’s vision for partially stateless nodes is not just about technical optimization—it’s about preserving Ethereum’s social layer. Decentralization isn’t solely measured by hash rate or validator count; it’s also reflected in how many ordinary users can meaningfully participate in network validation.
By lowering the barrier to entry for node operation, this proposal supports a more resilient and inclusive ecosystem. It complements ongoing efforts like sharding, rollups, and EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding), which aim to increase throughput without compromising decentralization.
Moreover, it encourages a shift toward user-owned infrastructure, where individuals no longer outsource trust but instead maintain direct control over their blockchain interactions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is a partially stateless node?
A: It’s a type of Ethereum node that stores only a selected portion of the blockchain state—such as data related to the user’s accounts and frequently used dApps—rather than the entire network state. This reduces storage and bandwidth needs while still allowing local validation.
Q: How does it differ from a full or light node?
A: Full nodes store all blockchain data; light nodes rely heavily on external sources for validation. Partially stateless nodes strike a middle ground—they validate blocks without full state storage but retain more local control than light nodes.
Q: Can I use a partially stateless node today?
A: Not yet. The concept is currently a research proposal by Vitalik Buterin. Implementation would require protocol-level changes and client support from teams like Geth or Nethermind.
Q: Does it compromise security?
A: No. Security remains intact for transactions within the stored state subset. For queries outside that scope, users may need to rely on external providers temporarily—but core validation stays local.
Q: Why is reducing node size important?
A: Smaller node requirements mean more individuals can run them, increasing network resilience and reducing reliance on centralized services like Infura or Alchemy.
Q: Will this affect Ethereum’s scalability?
A: Indirectly, yes. By enabling broader participation in verification, it strengthens Layer 1’s role as a secure settlement layer amid growing Layer 2 activity.
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Final Thoughts
Vitalik Buterin’s proposal for partially stateless nodes represents a forward-thinking step toward sustainable decentralization. As Ethereum scales to serve millions, maintaining accessibility for individual users must remain a priority. This solution offers a pragmatic path forward—balancing performance, privacy, and participation.
By rethinking how nodes operate and what data they must store, Ethereum can continue evolving without sacrificing its core values. The future of decentralized networks depends not just on innovation at the protocol level, but on empowering every user to be an active participant—not just a passive consumer.
Core Keywords: Ethereum scaling, partially stateless nodes, Vitalik Buterin, node decentralization, trustless validation, RPC provider risks, blockchain privacy, Layer 1 scalability