Vitalik Buterin proposes unified Ethereum node software update and partially stateless nodes

On a Saturday, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin submitted a proposal to merge the consensus-layer and execution-layer client software into a single backend codebase, aiming to make running Ethereum nodes simpler for users. He argued that operating personal infrastructure should be easy and accessible, and linked this effort to his May 2025 concept of partially stateless nodes that reduce storage demands by keeping only necessary blockchain data.