The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has revealed that it intends to expand the infrastructure supporting its Ethereum execution client.
The move made by Coinbase was prompted by Geth (go-ethereum) ‘s growing dominance in the ecosystem, which has caused disagreement among stakeholders and industry professionals.
The firm revealed the plan in an X post on January 23. As to the Coinbase Cloud thread, Geth was the only Ethereum (ETH) execution client that met the company’s technical requirements for Ethereum staking since the beginning. Coinbase Cloud:
“Although we’ve evaluated execution clients since 2020, none have met Coinbase Cloud’s requirements to date. Many other operators on the network have reached the same conclusion, which is part of the reason why 84% of Ethereum validators run Geth. However, the tide is turning.”
Managing transactions as well as the installation and operation of smart contracts, Geth is an essential component of the Ethereum network. Geth’s supremacy has sparked worries about centralization and the dangers of having just one client.
Coinbase is dedicated to incorporating an additional Ethereum execution client into its infrastructure and is currently aggressively carrying out a technical evaluation of potential alternatives.
By February 2024, the exchange intends to offer a thorough update on this procedure. According to Ethereum.org, the incident highlights a larger problem with the Ethereum network.
Geth is used by about 85% of all nodes, according to the website, which raises the possibility of systemic hazards if a significant issue interferes with transaction processing or permits payload execution.
This issue garnered more attention after a serious flaw that was found in many iterations of Nethermind’s execution client on January 22 was alleged to have caused Ethereum block processing errors.
