Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum ecosystem, has proposed several modifications to the blockchain’s scaling strategy. These modifications enhance Layer 1 (L1) performance without sacrificing decentralization or node accessibility on the ETH network.
On May 19, 2025, Vitalik Buterin revealed a plan outlining a method to increase Ethereum’s throughput. It aims for a throughput of 10–100 times while preserving the feasibility of individual node operators. It resolves a basic conflict in blockchain development: increasing transaction processing capacity frequently means raising node operators’ hardware needs, which can result in centralization.
His new methodology focuses on what he calls a “bias toward local nodes” in Ethereum’s scaling strategy.
This proposal is timely, as Ethereum is growing rapidly due to decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized applications, NFTs, and on-chain gaming applications. These developments showcase Ethereum’s versatility but also highlight its shortcomings. The latter includes high transaction fees and slow confirmations during peak usage.
Ethereum Scaling in Three Phases
The proposal is based on three key elements. The first is accelerating the full implementation of EIP-4444. This would enable nodes to prune historical data, retaining only about 36 days’ information. Storing long-term data in a distributed network would reduce disk space requirements.
Second, developing robust decentralized historical data storage solutions to complement EIP-4444. This would ensure that while individual nodes don’t need to store all historical data, the network as a whole maintains complete records.
Finally, adjusting the gas mechanism to increase the cost of new state storage creates better economic incentives for efficient state management.
“Partially Stateless Nodes”- Outstanding Feature for ETH
“Partially stateless nodes,” a novel class, are designed to validate blocks without storing all information. This allows users to save just the portion of the state that is necessary for their requirements, like information for DeFi apps or widely used ERC20 tokens.
Operating a local node could maintain advantages in privacy and censorship resistance while reducing storage demands by up to 50%.
If implemented, these modifications could significantly advance Ethereum’s scaling strategy. This approach attempts to increase nodes’ efficiency while preserving their core capabilities, as opposed to merely raising the gas limit, which would make operating a complete node more resource-intensive.
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