Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has raised fresh concerns about how the network’s upcoming ePBS upgrade could reshape power inside the blockchain.
The upgrade, expected in the Glamsterdam phase, will allow validators to outsource block construction to an open and permissionless market of builders. This design aims to prevent block-building dominance from spilling into staking control.
However, Buterin pointed out that although ePBS decouples staking from building blocks, it does not eliminate the potential for centralization in the block construction process.
This is because if a handful of block builders have their hands on most of the block construction, they may choose which transactions to include, slow down some trades, or extract more MEV at the expense of users.
He asked how Ethereum should address this problem and whether the solution should be implemented in the protocol or outside of it.
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Big FOCIL and Expanded Control Over Block Contents
Among Buterin’s concepts is FOCIL, which is a censorship-resistant system. In this system, 16 randomly selected attesters are supposed to select a number of transactions that need to be included in a block. If this does not happen, the block will fail.
This means that even if a malicious party is responsible for the creation of blocks, they will not be able to prevent transactions from being included in the blockchain. The participants are like guardians who protect against censorship.
Another advanced concept, also known as Big FOCIL, is an extension of the above concept. Instead of choosing a few transactions, they could choose a larger portion of the block contents.
To avoid duplication, the transactions could be assigned according to patterns of sender addresses or started from previous slots. The main purpose of the builder in this case would be to organize MEV-sensitive trades and state transitions.
Routing Transactions Through Tor and Ethereum Mixnets
Buterin also discussed encrypted mempools as a solution to prevent malicious MEV actions such as sandwich attacks and frontrunning.
If transactions are encrypted until they are confirmed in a block, attackers would not be able to rely on visible pending transactions.
The challenge is to ensure that transactions are still valid and that they are decrypted only after they are mined.
In addition to encryption, Buterin also discussed the network level, which is often overlooked by people. If transactions go through public nodes or RPC services, they can be vulnerable even before they reach the blockchain.
This can cause data tracking, griefing, or trade manipulation. To address this, people are exploring ways to route transactions through the use of Tor or developing mixnets specifically for Ethereum.
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