Covalent’s EWM Light Client Secures Ethereum’s Future By Preserving Historical Data

Published: October 18, 2024 at 10:00 am Updated: October 18, 2024 at 4:16 am

Edited and fact-checked:
October 18, 2024 at 10:00 am

In Brief

According to Ganesh Swami, co-founder of Covalent, Ethereum, once hailed as the “World Computer,” now finds itself at a critical crossroads.

According to Ganesh Swami, co-founder of Covalent, a modular data infrastructure layer aimed at addressing key challenges in blockchain and AI, Ethereum, once hailed as the World Computer, now faces a critical crossroads.

Ganesh Swami suggests that Ethereum’s original vision is under threat. The network has become sidetracked by chasing trends like faster execution speeds and the “ultra-sound money” narrative while losing focus on what made it revolutionary. The question of whether Ethereum has lost its way as the ecosystem contends with slow progress and increasing competition from blockchains like Solana and Bitcoin.

Even Ethereum Team Lead Péter Szilágyi has expressed concern, stating that “Ethereum is losing the plot.” With rising inflation and the token price still below its 2021 peak, it is clear that Ethereum needs to re-evaluate its direction. The pressing question now is: what should Ethereum’s path forward be?

Ganesh Swami About Refocusing On Infrastructure As A Key Solution

The Covalent co-founder notes that there is a potential solution. Ethereum’s core strength has always been its infrastructure, which allows developers to build decentralized applications (dApps). Yet, the network’s long-term vision has been overshadowed by short-term dApp hype, stagnant user growth, and the siloed activity within Layer 2 networks.

With major upcoming upgrades like Pectra and The Purge coming in late 2024, Ethereum will become leaner by purging old historical data. However, this process carries the risk of centralizing that data, which could conflict with Ethereum’s broader goal of maintaining decentralization across the network.

Ethereum Wayback Machine (EWM), introduced by Covalent, is designed to preserve Ethereum’s historical data, ensuring it remains decentralized and accessible even as Ethereum moves forward with purging older data. To further support this initiative, Covalent has launched the EWM Light Client Testnet, a critical tool aimed at maintaining the network’s decentralization.

Now live, the Light Client Testnet allows participants to contribute to safeguarding Ethereum’s long-term data availability. By doing so, they play a key role in protecting Ethereum’s decentralization, ensuring the network stays aligned with its original mission of being the “World Computer.”

Covalent‘s large reservoir of structured, verifiable data enhances decentralized AI training and inference, reducing the likelihood of manipulated or biased AI models. The EWM also ensures secure and decentralized access to Ethereum’s transaction history. Trusted by more than 3,000 leading organizations, Covalent currently supports AI, decentralized finance (DeFi), game finance (GameFi), and other sectors by providing unrestricted access to on-chain data from over 200 blockchains.

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About The Author

Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.

Alisa Davidson