Vitalik Buterin Reacts to Succinct Labs' Real-Time Proving Breakthrough: Ethereum Eyes Massive Gas Limit Hike

Holy moly, folks! Vitalik Buterin just dropped a bombshell in response to Succinct Labs' mind-blowing real-time proving milestone. The Ethereum mastermind is gunning for a jaw-dropping increase in the Layer1 gas limit – we're talking a whopping ten to 100 times!

In a post that's setting the crypto world ablaze, Buterin clapped back at an X user who dared to question Succinct Lab's co-founder Uma Roy's announcement about their team's jaw-dropping demo of a full "zkVM" proof system for the ecosystem's execution layer.

While Buterin gave a nod to the Succinct team's progress, he didn't hold back on pointing out four critical areas that both the project and the wider network need to tackle ASAP to make real-time proving a rock-solid feature for users on the Layer1.

"So, truly amazing work by @pumatheuma and team, but definitely still a few steps to the final destination," Buterin declared, laying down the gauntlet.

Buterin didn't pull any punches when he revealed that Succinct Labs' demo for real-time Ethereum (ETH) proving mechanism was only tested on average-case timings, not the worst-case scenarios. He stressed that without worst-case timings, the mechanism ain't safe for widespread L1 use.

But wait, there's more! Buterin dropped another bombshell, stating that the Ethereum team is dead set on cranking up the Layer1 gas limit by a mind-blowing 10 to 100 times its current rate. Right now, Ethereum's average gas limit is hovering around 35.99 million, a tiny bump from yesterday's 35.98 million.

"We wanna 10-100x the L1 gas limit," Buterin proclaimed, leaving no doubt about Ethereum's ambitions.

Buterin also called out Succinct's proving mechanism for lacking formal verification, which is crucial for assuring users that it's smooth sailing and relatively bug-free. And get this – the real-time proving system still guzzles around 100 kilowatts of power to churn out proofs at the demonstrated speed.

Buterin made it crystal clear that to make it accessible for the masses, the energy cost to generate proofs needs to be slashed to around 10 kW. That way, it's friendly for home use and opens the door for small teams or individuals to run their own real-time proofs.

What's the Deal with Ethereum's Current Gas Limit?

Hold onto your hats, because Ethereum's gas limit has been on a wild ride over the past year. As of May 21, 2024, it's surged nearly 20% from 30 million to a whopping 35.99 million.

If Ethereum pulls off this insane gas limit hike of 10 to 100 times, we could be looking at a gas limit that skyrockets to 360 million to a mind-boggling 3600 million! The gas limit is like the bouncer of the Ethereum network, keeping transactions in check and preventing them from hogging resources that could jack up fees or cause chaos.

Even if real-time proving mechanisms become the new norm on-chain, each one is a gas guzzler. To make it work on a massive scale, we're talking about a gas limit that blows the current block gas limit out of the water.

Remember last February when Ethereum pulled off its first gas limit bump since 2021? It shot up to 32 million gas units, crossing the 30 million mark for the first time in nearly half a decade. And get this – over 51.1% of validators gave it the green light without even needing a hard fork!