Coinbase Adds Two Software Programs for Ethereum Staking, to Reduce Concentration Risks
Coinbase, a U.S. crypto exchange, is adding support for two additional computer programs, Nethermind and Erigon, to reduce risks on the Ethereum blockchain. These programs, known as "clients", are used by users to access and run the distributed network. Currently, Ethereum relies heavily on the Geth execution client, which represents about 74% of all clients. Nethermind and Erigon account for 13% and 3% respectively. Coinbase plans to migrate roughly half of its validators to Nethermind over the next month and aims to evenly distribute between Geth, Nethermind, and Erigon in the long term. This move is in response to concerns about the lack of client diversity on Ethereum, highlighted by a recent bug on Nethermind that affected about 8% of Ethereum blockchain validators.
