Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted a proposal, or pull request, on Saturday to simplify node setup by merging the protocol’s execution layer and the backend programs used by nodes to interact with Ethereum’s beacon chain, which handles consensus and staking, into one unified code structure.
Ethereum node runners, also known as validators, currently need to run two separate programs, each of which requires setup and synchronization to coordinate and communicate data generated by Ethereum’s consensus and execution layers.
This increases the technical complexity of running nodes and providing validation services on the Ethereum network, making it impossible for regular users to run their own infrastructure and forcing them to rely on third-party service providers.
sauce: Vitalik Buterin
“At every level, I feel like we’ve implicitly made the decision that running a node is such a scary DevOps task that it’s okay to leave it to the experts,” Buterin said in a post on X. He continued:
“That’s not the case. We need to reverse this. Running your own Ethereum infrastructure should be a fundamental right of every individual and household. ‘Because the hardware requirements are high, it doesn’t matter if the DevOps skill and time requirements are also high’ is no excuse.”
Buterin said that even people who can afford high-end computing hardware and have the technical expertise to set up an Ethereum node typically don’t have the time to do so, adding that “nodes should be easy.”
The Ethereum network and other smart contract blockchains have faced criticism for their technical complexity and hardware requirements to run nodes, which has also raised centralization concerns for these networks.
Related: Ethereum Foundation releases mission with clear role and goals
Buterin proposes partially stateless nodes to further decentralize the network
In May 2025, Buterin proposed partially stateless nodes. It does not maintain a complete block history, only the data needed by the node runner.
This reduces hardware costs and data storage requirements for users running nodes for personal purposes, such as sending transactions or validating the blockchain.
Diagram showing how partially stateless nodes store only part of the blockchain’s state. sauce: Ethereum research
According to Go-Ethereum (GETH), the main bottleneck for node operators is usually disk space. Smart contract blockchain networks like Ethereum generate large amounts of data that require ever-increasing storage space and therefore require specialized node hardware.
“A market structure dominated by a small number of remote procedure call (RPC) providers will face intense pressure to deplatform or censor users, with many RPC providers already excluding entire countries,” Buterin wrote.
In late January, Buterin said he had set aside 16,384 ether (worth about $45 million) from his personal holdings to support privacy-preserving technology, open hardware, and secure and verifiable software. He added that the funding will be phased in over the next few years as the Ethereum Foundation continues to pursue its technological roadmap and enters a period of what he described as “mild austerity.”
magazine: Ethereum’s Fusaka fork explained to beginners: What exactly is PeerDAS?
