Protocol research call

Ethereum has many important trade-offs to make in the short term that will shape what the protocol’s end state looks like. To navigate these, it is critical for the community of researchers, core devs, users and builders to come together to discuss these topics, and to improve planning & design through open and organised discussion. As a first step, we plan to experiment with a new Protocol research call.

We hope to derive through our conversations the goals that the network should build towards. We intend to clarify possibilities and trade-offs that recent Ethereum research has uncovered, illuminating the best means to achieve these goals, and create deeper alignment with core development on the path to implementation.

For instance, several key questions face the Ethereum community:

  • What is the future of the validator set?
  • What are the right steps to scaling the L1?
  • What are the right steps to scaling the blobs for L2s?

and many others.

To get us started, we have released a first piece on local building, an important question to ponder on the path to further scaling. Much of the discourse today does not clarify whether local building is a goal of Ethereum, or a means for us to achieve network objectives such as censorship-resistance, security (e.g., safety + liveness), scale or verifiability.

@adietrichs and I will host a pilot first call on April 2nd, 2025, at 14:00 UTC, with a 90 minute duration, on the topic of protocol roles and types of nodes, highlighting local building and validator duties. We also plan to release further async notes, and adjust or create new venues (sync or async) as needed. We are open to agenda suggestions and comments on how this call can best fulfil its purpose.

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Is the call public or private?

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Hey Barnabe & Ansgar,

This is a fantastic incentive! We definitely need this type of conversation and discussion happening.
I’m wondering if you guys consider using lu.ma type of events for people to be able to add this call as event to their calendar?
Let me know if you need help setting up lu.ma for the Protocol research call.

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How can someone participate?

Hi! The call should be public, we’ll probably follow the same model of some Zoom link somewhere and a stream.

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Our call is happening tomorrow at 2pm UTC (use this link for the Ethereum calls calendar).

The main topic is the roles of home nodes on the network. Roughly, our schedule will include:

  1. Presentation of the Protocol research call
  2. Decoupling throughput from local building (see post 1)
  3. Paths to SSF revisited (see post 2)

The call will feature invited presentations as well as some time for open discussion. Consider joining the call on Zoom if you intend to contribute to the conversation, and use the YouTube stream link otherwise:

Looking forward to it!

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A more detailed planned agenda (if we can stick to it! aiming for 90 mins)

  • Presentation of the call
  • Part 1: Local building
    • Toni Wahrstätter: Expanding mempool perspectives
    • Barnabé Monnot: Protocol roles and node types
    • Open chat
  • Part 2: SSF, short slot times and home nodes
    • Dankrad Feist + Matt Rice + Justin Drake: On the value of SSF and short slot times (pitches + panels)
    • Francesco d’Amato: On the costs of SSF
    • Open chat
  • Next call teaser

was there a recording on this one? interesting to understand better incentives

nevermind i found the live in a comment