The cloud division at Coinbase has added support for Nethermind and Erigon into its staking infrastructure – aiming to improve the diversity of execution-layer clients.
The move seeks to reduce dependency on the widely utilized Geth execution layer client by strategically distributing validators across a variety of clients. The deployment of Nethermind clients is scheduled to start this week.
“Execution client diversity on Ethereum is a critical concern for all of us at Coinbase,” the firm said last month.
Ethereum clients are software applications facilitating interaction with the Ethereum blockchain, processing transactions and executing smart contracts. Coinbase operates as one of the leading staking service providers on Ethereum, managing 138,000 validator nodes using these clients.
Coinbase’s support for Nethermind and Erigon (in addition to Geth) addresses the concern over Geth’s dominance, which accounts for more than a 70% share in execution layer clients, and the risks of relying heavily on a single client. Such risks include issues of centralization and the potential for impact if a vulnerability in the Geth client was identified.
Ethereum’s core developers have been increasingly advocating for a multi-client ecosystem. Such an ecosystem would enable various clients, developed by separate teams in diverse programming languages, to function.
