Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange, is working to integrate an additional Ethereum execution client into its infrastructure, responding to concerns about the ecosystem’s over-reliance on Go-Ethereum (Geth). In a recent post, the exchange highlighted efforts to reduce its dependency on Geth, which was also acknowledged by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
When Coinbase Cloud initiated Ethereum staking, Geth was the only execution client meeting their technical requirements. The exchange noted that despite evaluating execution clients since 2020, none have met Coinbase Cloud’s standards, which is a contributing factor to 84% of Ethereum validators running Geth.
Geth is an Ethereum execution client vital for processing, deploying, and executing smart contracts. Coinbase is currently assessing other execution clients for technical compatibility, with plans to provide an official update by the end of February 2024.
The discussion on Coinbase’s reliance on Geth was sparked by a social media post from investor Aftab Hossain, who expressed concerns over the risks associated with staking setup using a single client. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong directly responded to the post, indicating that the exchange is addressing the issue.
Concerns about execution client errors have been heightened following a critical bug in various versions of the Nethermind execution client, which prevented users from processing Ethereum blocks on January 22. Ethereum.org’s page on client diversity estimates that 85% of validators run on Geth, highlighting the risks of a single client failure affecting consensus clients’ ability to finalize transactions.