Return of 1 million attesters, a path for all validators to vote again
Strawmap Beyond that (Long term) · return to 1M attesters
This is a long-term task: after reducing the number of validators signing in each slot to enable fast finality, and once signature aggregation technology has improved enough, it returns to having 1 million validators vote directly in every slot.
Why it is needed
In Ethereum, validators that vote by signature on whether a block is valid are called attesters. The validator count once exceeded 1 million. Because it is hard to collect and process that many signatures within a single slot, validators now vote in groups spread across several slots. As a result, it takes time for a block to reach finality, the point at which it can no longer be reverted. Research aimed at cutting finality down to a few slots is first moving toward reducing the number of validators that sign in a single slot. The approaches are to merge validators into larger units or to have only a subset vote on a rotating basis. However, this can reduce the share of small individual validators who participate directly in every slot. This item aims to return to a state where 1 million validators vote directly in every slot, once the technology for aggregating many signatures into one has matured enough. The idea is to get fast finality and broad participation at the same time. It is still at the research stage, so its content may change or it may be dropped from the roadmap.
How it works
- Now: voting in groups There are too many validators for all of them to sign in one slot. Votes rotate across several slots, so finality is slow.
- Middle: fewer signatures, faster finality Validators are merged, or only a subset votes in each slot, to reduce the number of signatures. In exchange, finality is reached within a few slots.
- Long term: back to 1 million Once the technology to aggregate many signatures efficiently is in place, 1 million validators vote directly in every slot again while fast finality is kept.