Launching the RUN EWM Campaign: Long Live Ethereum
TL;DR
We’re excited to introduce the EWM Light Client, an essential step in keeping Ethereum decentralized, secure, and trustless.
While preserving historical data is one component of this mission, the Ethereum Wayback Machine plays a much broader role in ensuring that Ethereum remains resilient and maintains its trustless nature as it evolves.
Join the RUN EWM waitlist today to build the future of Ethereum —all you need is your laptop! Participating in the testnet phase is a way to reserve your spot on mainnet, where APY is estimated at 20-25%.
Since its inception, Ethereum has battled to define itself in an evolving blockchain landscape. Is it a store of value, like Bitcoin? Or is it an application platform, poised to power decentralized applications for the next generation of the internet? To answer this, we go back to an early metaphor used to describe the vision for Ethereum: the World Computer. What Ethereum stands for is that it is a global platform where anyone can write code, build applications, share information, and verify it. It is much more than just a currency. However, as Ethereum has grown, it faces a critical challenge: balancing the need for scalability with the risk of centralization.
With the rise of rollups and other scalability solutions, Ethereum must shed its historical data to remain agile and efficient. This decision risks making Ethereum more like centralized 'data center' chains, where only a select few hold access to the network’s past. Doing so risks losing the decentralized ethos that makes Ethereum unique, and effectively disenfranchises solo stakers. This is where the Ethereum Wayback Machine (EWM) steps in. The EWM is Covalent’s solution to long-term data availability on Ethereum. Now, we introduce the EWM Light Client, a critical validation component that anyone can run to be a part of this mission ensuring Ethereum remains secure and decentralized.
The Stakes: Why Preserving Ethereum’s History Matters
Preserving decentralization goes beyond retaining historical data; it’s about keeping Ethereum a trustless, transparent network. When Ethereum sheds its historical state, the risk of centralization increases—allowing a few to control crucial aspects of the network's integrity. Here's why it's important to avoid this:
Increased Centralization of Knowledge: Without access to old state data, only a few entities with archival nodes would control the complete history of Ethereum. This shift undermines Ethereum’s trustlessness, handing power to those who hold the keys to its past.
Challenges in Verifying Historical Integrity: Without historical data, auditing and verifying the blockchain’s past becomes difficult, relying on other centralized parties to guarantee accuracy.
Impact on Decentralized Applications: dApps that rely on historical data would face challenges, as only those with the resources to maintain full archival nodes could support their operations, concentrating control.
Shift from Decentralized Verification to Trust-Based Models: Trust in Ethereum’s history would shift from decentralized verification to trusting entities that retain the data, which risks the core ethos of Ethereum.
The EWM Light Client is the first step in solving these challenges. It ensures that everyone, from small operators to major enterprises, can participate in preserving Ethereum’s history without relying on centralized data centers.
RUN EWM with the EWM Light Client
The EWM Light Client is designed to scale the verification of proofs in the Covalent Network in a decentralized manner. The proofs it verifies ensure that the data in the Covalent Network is correct, complete, and consistent with the original blockchain data. Rather than relying on costly, high-powered nodes to verify data, the EWM Light Client allows many smaller, independent participants to contribute. This distributed approach ensures that no single entity has control over the network's verification process. Anyone can run the EWM Light Client! The testnet is open to all, and allows you to reserve a spot for mainnet where you’ll need to deposit 5000 CXT. This is an opportunity for everyone to be a part of the Ethereum Wayback Machine, and the broader mission of keeping Ethereum decentralized.
Where the EWM Light Client Fits in the Network Stack
The EWM Light Client plays a unique role within the Ethereum Wayback Machine, complementing the functions of the Block Specimen Producer (BSP) and Block Results Producer (BRP). Here’s a quick breakdown of how they all fit together:
Block Specimen Producer (BSP): This component extracts and concatenates Ethereum data, creating Block Specimens that are stored in decentralized networks like IPFS. BSPs are responsible for ensuring that the raw historical data is preserved. All proofs of work done by validators are added to the EWM Proof Chain. The BSPs are been running on mainnet for over two years, but have been retrofitted with padding to enable Data Availability Sampling (DAS).
Block Results Producer (BRP): The BRP takes these Block Specimens and re-executes them to produce enriched Block Results, which provide a deeper view of the blockchain’s history, including transaction receipts and state reads.
EWM Light Client: The EWM Light Client sits alongside these components, validating the existence and cryptographic integrity of the Block Specimens produced by BSPs, and in the future, Block Results. By confirming that data exists and is validated against the cryptographic proof on the EWM Proof Chain, the Light Client ensures that Ethereum’s historical record is accurate and verified in a decentralized manner without the need for massive storage infrastructure.
In short, while the BSPs and BRPs generate and enrich the data, the EWM Light Client ensures that it’s verified, contributing to the decentralization of Ethereum’s history.
Key Features
A critical challenge in scaling the Ethereum Wayback Machine is ensuring that data remains available without overloading the network. To address this, the EWM Light Client utilizes Data Availability Sampling (DAS), a method that allows nodes to verify data availability without downloading it entirely. DAS enables light clients to sample small portions of the data and check that these samples match cryptographic proofs. This dramatically reduces the bandwidth and storage requirements for participants, making the EWM Light Client lightweight and easy to run.
The EWM Light Client also leverages KZG Commitments, a cryptographic tool that ensures the integrity of the data being sampled. KZG Commitments allow light clients to verify that the sampled data is consistent with the original dataset without needing to see the entire dataset, ensuring both efficiency and security. Together, DAS and KZG Commitments ensure that the EWM Light Client can efficiently and securely validate data within the Ethereum Wayback Machine, supporting a decentralized, scalable infrastructure.
Why You Should Run the EWM Light Client:
Decentralization: By running the EWM Light Client, you help keep historical data on Ethereum decentralized. You’re ensuring that its history doesn’t become the domain of a few centralized entities.
Preserving Ethereum’s Future: As Ethereum scales, its past shouldn’t be sacrificed. The EWM Light Client ensures that Ethereum can continue to evolve without losing the integrity of its history.
Accessible for Everyone: The EWM Light Client is lightweight and easy to run, making it accessible to a wide range of participants. You don’t need expensive hardware or technical infrastructure to participate in preserving Ethereum. Running a light client is straightforward and can be done on Mac, Linux, Docker, and cloud environments.
Above all, running the EWM Light Client is a way of upholding the initial vision of Ethereum —to be a world computer that is secure, scalable, and decentralized.
Together we can provide the ultimate home for all developers and solo stakers, which are the backbone of Ethereum's decentralization. Long live Ethereum!
DePin Tokenomics: “DePinomics”
The launch of the EWM Light Client is the initial foray to expanding the Ethereum Wayback Machine to scale to have thousands of independent actors participating in a permissionless way in the data network, realizing the ultimate vision for a DePin network. To support the bootstrap of the network, we are targeting 2000 clients in the first mainnet phase of the launch with a rewards profile of 20-25% APY.
True to the nature of a DePin network, the light client’s work is expected to expand beyond validation of the Block Specimens and Block Results, including validation of AI inference workloads.
Join the Testnet: How to Get Involved
Starting today, we invite you to join the RUN EWM testnet waitlist and play a key role in Ethereum’s decentralized future. The testnet will be open to all participants, with rewards available for those who help validate and preserve Ethereum’s history. As we move through the testnet phase, your feedback and participation will help us refine and scale the EWM Light Client for its eventual mainnet release.
This is your opportunity to be part of Ethereum’s future and ensure that its history remains decentralized and accessible to all. Whether you’re a developer, a node operator, a blockchain enthusiast, or you just like playing with cool tech, the EWM Light Client offers you the chance to contribute to one of Ethereum’s most critical missions—preserving its history for the next generation of applications.
Next Steps
Run the EWM Light Client (RUN EWM!): Sign up for the RUN EWM testnet waitlist to be one of the first to RUN the EWM Light Client on Testnet, launching this September.
Read the Whitepaper: Learn more about the EWM Light Client and its role in the Ethereum Wayback Machine by reading the whitepaper.
Join the Community: Connect with other participants and stay updated on the latest developments by joining the Telegram community.
The future of Ethereum is in your hands. Let’s ensure its past remains decentralized, accessible, and secure.
