Major Upgrade for Ethereum Transactions
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has introduced a game-changing feature for the Ethereum blockchain that promises to significantly speed up transaction confirmations.
Single Slot Finality (SSF)
The new SSF feature streamlines the consensus-building process on the Ethereum network, making transactions almost instantaneous. This addresses long-standing issues with efficiency and scalability.
How SSF Works
Currently, Ethereum uses a slot-by-slot voting system and an epoch-by-epoch finality mechanism. This process is complex and can take up to 12.8 minutes to finalize a transaction.
SSF replaces this approach with a process similar to Tendermint consensus, where block N is finalized before block N+1 is created. This eliminates the need for the lengthy epoch-by-epoch finality mechanism.
Challenges and Benefits
While SSF promises faster transaction times, it also poses challenges. It requires Ethereum stakers to post two messages every 12 seconds, which could strain the network if not implemented carefully.
Two Preconfirmation Systems
The SSF feature includes two distinct preconfirmation systems:
- Rollup Preconfirmations: Divides responsibilities between Ethereum layer 1 and layer 2 solutions, focusing on censorship resistance and stability for layer 1 and user engagement for layer 2.
- Based Preconfirmations: Assumes that Ethereum proposers will become skilled in MEV-related activities and incentivizes them to offer preconfirmations-as-a-service.
