At the EthCC[7] conference in Belgium, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin once again emphasized the importance of reducing block validation times for the blockchain.

During a discussion on Pre-Confirmations (a “soft confirmation” model), Buterin highlighted the benefits of shorter Slot validation times (equivalent to Block times).

He argued that the soft confirmation model of Layer-2 solutions is a significant advancement for the Ethereum ecosystem. This model takes approximately one second for confirmation, compared to the pre-EIP-1559 Ethereum mainnet, which could take 10-13 minutes.

Despite improvements in speed, the soft confirmation model on Layer-2 still has limitations. Buterin stated that alternative approaches are needed to avoid compromising other aspects, specifically decentralization.

Additionally, Buterin proposed an approach called “Medium-strength Assurance” as a temporary confirmation method, rather than “Finality.” While Finality offers slightly higher security, the first approach strikes a balance, allowing for faster transaction confirmations with an acceptable level of security.

Approaches to achieve shorter Confirmation times include:

• An independent soft confirmation system on Layer-2
• Soft confirmation through Proposers on Layer-1
• Reducing slot times below Layer-1

Buterin pointed out various limitations for the first two approaches. On Layer-2, the workload is significant, requiring extensive time to optimize a Pre-confirmations model. Assigning the Confirmation role to Proposers increases dependency on these entities and raises the risk of transaction censorship, affecting network decentralization.

Due to these challenges, Buterin suggested that Layer-1 should have shorter Slot validation times to alleviate some of the speed burden currently handled by Layer-2. Shorter Slot times on Layer-1 could reduce the need for less decentralized Layer-2 models, redistributing the pressure of transaction confirmation back to Layer-1.

This isn’t the first time Buterin has supported the implementation of a “Single-slot Finality” model to shorten Ethereum’s validation times. Just last week, he introduced the “slot-and-epoch” model, proposing a balanced speed distribution across the network layers.

It’s evident that concerns over the security risks of many Layer-2 solutions have driven Ethereum developers to rapidly develop new solutions. These solutions aim to ensure safe and fast validation while maintaining decentralization.

Source: Coin68