[Keynotes] Possible futures of the Ethereum protocol, part 6: The Splurge

“The Splurge” encompasses various valuable improvements to the Ethereum protocol that don’t fit into larger categories. It mainly focuses on enhancing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and exploring niche topics.

Key Goals

• Achieve a stable and efficient EVM.
• Integrate account abstraction for better security and convenience.
• Optimize transaction fee economics.
• Explore advanced cryptography for long-term benefits.

EVM Improvements

• Problems: Current EVM is inefficient and hard to analyze, hindering advanced cryptography.
• Solutions: Introduce EVM Object Format (EOF) to separate code and data, ban dynamic jumps, and add subroutines. EOF allows easier upgrades like EVM Modular Arithmetic Extensions (EVM-MAX) and SIMD for performance enhancements.
• Tradeoffs: EOF increases L1 complexity but simplifies high-level languages and EVM implementations.
• Interactions: EVM changes facilitate Layer 2 (L2) improvements and reduce gas costs for proof systems.

Account Abstraction

• Problems: Current verification is limited to ECDSA signatures, restricting flexibility and security enhancements.
• Solutions: Account abstraction allows smart contracts to initiate transactions, improving security and enabling quantum-resistant cryptography, multisig wallets, and more. ERC-4337 addresses DoS risks by separating validation and execution phases.
• Tradeoffs: Balancing early implementation with ideal solutions. Hybrid approaches might deploy ambitious features on L2 first.
• Interactions: Inclusion lists and decentralized mempools should support abstracted transactions. Harmonization between L1 and L2 is crucial, especially for keystore accounts.

EIP-1559 Improvements

• Problems: Current implementation has inefficiencies and discrepancies in block filling and resource pricing.
• Solutions: Introduce multidimensional gas pricing for various resources to optimize block usage and streamline pricing mechanisms.
• Tradeoffs: Increased complexity in protocol and block-filling algorithms.
• Interactions: Eases performance optimization and supports state size management.

Verifiable Delay Functions (VDFs)

• Problems: Current randomness (RANDAO) allows minor manipulation; VDFs offer more robust randomness.
• Solutions: Use sequential functions with proofs to ensure unpredictable and unbiased randomness.
• Tradeoffs: Balancing protocol complexity with security benefits.
• Interactions: Enhances security for proposer selection and on-chain applications needing randomness.

Obfuscation and One-Shot Signatures

• Problems: Trust and privacy require complex cryptographic solutions.
• Solutions: Use advanced cryptographic primitives like ZK-SNARKs, FHE, and indistinguishability obfuscation to simulate trustless third parties.
• Tradeoffs: Current protocols are immature and inefficient; security assumptions vary.
• Interactions: Could revolutionize security and privacy, affecting everything from voting to encrypted mempools.

These advancements aim to address current inefficiencies, enhance security, and prepare Ethereum for more robust and versatile applications in the future.

You can read the full article on Vitalik Buterin website.