How bugs in supermajority clients could cause Ethereum to implode
Errors in Ethereum clients can be catastrophic if they occur in supermajority clients that hold more than 2/3 of the validation power. The Nethermind bug is currently causing a lot of discussion
In today’s episode of Bitcoin Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Manuel explains why there is currently intensive discussion in Ethereum developer circles about the risk of a massive failure of the Ethereum blockchain due to errors in Ethereum clients. On January 21st, a bug was discovered in Ethereum’s second largest execution client, the Nethermind client, which forced it to be taken offline for several hours. If such an incident were to occur in the most widely used Ethereum client, the Geth client, a catastrophic situation would occur for more than 2/3 of the validators due to the widespread use of the client, which Manuel describes in more detail below.
After describing what blockchain clients are and what client diversity currently looks like in the Ethereum network, Manuel presents two possible problems with a high concentration of Ethereum clients: a failure of the supermajority client and the inclusion of erroneous transactions without that the client notices this. The second type of error in particular can pause the entire Ethereum blockchain for weeks, destroying extremely large amounts of ETH and potentially making a chain reset essential.
If you want to know why it is highly problematic that the Ethereum network currently has a supermajority client that is used by more than 2/3 of the validators and what the reaction was in the market after the incident on January 21st, then listen Be sure to check out this episode.
Enjoy listening!
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