Key Points
A new study suggests that the Ethereum network could potentially process most of its transactions at the same time. This simultaneous processing could significantly enhance the speed and capacity of the Ethereum network.
Parallel Processing on Ethereum
The research, conducted by analysts at the layer-1 network Sei, indicates that approximately 65% of Ethereum’s transactions do not depend on each other. This means they could be processed simultaneously, making the network faster and more efficient.
Currently, Ethereum processes transactions sequentially. For instance, if one person sends 1 Ethereum (ETH) to another, and that person then sends 1 ETH to someone else, these transactions must occur consecutively.
However, the research suggests that many transactions do not affect each other and can therefore be processed in parallel. For example, if Bob sends 1 ETH to Alice and someone else sends 1 ETH to you at the same time, these transactions can occur simultaneously.
The study found that 64.85% of Ethereum transactions could be processed in this way. This method could significantly increase the network’s speed and capacity.
However, there are challenges to this approach. Some transactions are dependent on others and must be processed sequentially. According to the study, approximately 35.15% of Ethereum transactions fall into this category.
There are several proposed solutions to increase Ethereum’s speed. One such method is “optimistic concurrency control”, utilized by the Sei protocol. This allows transactions to occur simultaneously, under the assumption that they will not cause any issues.
After the transactions are completed, the system checks for any conflicts. If any issues arise, the system can reprocess the transactions. This method could potentially increase Ethereum’s processing speed while simplifying the process for developers.
In the future, Ethereum could also utilize a method known as sharding. This process divides the network into smaller segments to further enhance transaction processing speed.
