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- Ethereum may use restricted storage to manage privacy data without network overload.
- Vitalik Buterin says keyed nonces can support privacy and future Ethereum scaling.
- Sharding and bloom filters could lower Ethereum storage pressure on individual nodes.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a storage-focused path to help Ethereum grow without placing heavier strain on its network. In a Tuesday post on X, he linked keyed nonces and restricted storage to privacy support and future scaling plans.
Buterin said keyed nonces are “not just a way to add stronger in-protocol support for privacy solutions.” He described them as a first step toward new storage systems inside Ethereum.
The proposal centers on a simple change in design. Instead of treating all blockchain data the same, Ethereum could build storage areas for specific tasks and limit how each one is used.
That structure could matter most for privacy transactions. These transactions create nullifiers, which help stop double-spending in privacy systems.
Ethereum Nullifiers Raise Long-Term Storage Concerns
Nullifiers create a long-term problem because they cannot be removed after creation. As more privacy activity happens, the records continue to collect and add pressure to Ethereum storage.
Buterin gave a scale example to show the risk. If Ethereum handled about 2,000 privacy transactions per second for eight years, the chain could hold around 500 billion nullifiers.
He said steady use can turn a small record type into a major storage burden. The issue grows because nullifiers are permanent, even after they finish their main role in transaction checks.
To minimize such a burden, Buterin proposed to separate nullifiers out of the general state. They would be stored separately in a dedicated restricted storage system, which would make their usage easier to manage.
Such storage would not act as an open blockchain state. It would restrict the access of the data but still allow the network to confirm that privacy transactions are valid.
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Buterin claimed that the nullifiers were suitable in this model since they have a limited job scope. All they have to do is demonstrate whether or not a privacy transaction has been utilized.
Restricted Storage Could Support Ethereum Sharding
Their specific focus simplifies their management in comparison to dynamic state information. A dynamic state requires broader access and more intricate interaction throughout the network.
Sharding could also be supported by the design. By it, each node would only store a small portion of all nullifiers and remain connected to honest peers in other groups.
Bloom filters are another alternative. These tools have the ability to reduce verification data to very small sizes per nullifier and reduce storage requirements on individual nodes.
Buterin indicated that such techniques are more effective in limited storage than in a completely dynamic state. A dynamic state necessitates that nodes are constantly accessible and can drive hardware requirements up.
Large data requirements could be experienced by the builders without special storage. Buterin said that such requirements could be in the tens of terabytes in extreme cases.
The bigger picture is to make Ethereum simpler to operate as privacy usage expands. Buterin proposed limited storage as a means to alleviate long-term pressure without undermining decentralization.
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