In a blog post on August 1, Buterin suggested a structural change that would decouple Ethereum’s block finality from its fork choice mechanism—a move he believes could simplify consensus and speed up confirmations.
Currently, Ethereum uses a slot-based system where both processes run in the same time frame, requiring several rounds of validator communication for each block. This approach is secure but slows down how quickly blocks can be confirmed. Buterin’s idea is to let each function evolve independently.
His proposed “two-tier” design would dedicate a small, fixed set of validators—around 256—to run the LMD GHOST fork choice in real time, quickly selecting the head of the chain. A much larger validator group, working on a slower schedule, would handle block finality, making decisions about which blocks are irreversible.
This separation could reduce communication rounds per slot, shorten block times, and allow the network to support a vastly larger validator pool—potentially scaling to a million participants—without adding heavy technical complexity. Buterin also highlighted that the approach would make it easier to update or replace finality mechanisms in the future without affecting the core chain-selection logic.
The concept remains in the research stage, but if adopted, it could mark one of Ethereum’s most important steps toward improving efficiency while maintaining security.
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