Vitalik: Storing the Merkle Root On-Chain Still Requires Storing and Updating the Data That Proofs Depend On

On May 18, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin weighed in on Ethereum’s state storage challenge. He explained that even though users store raw data themselves, the blockchain only retains hashes of that data, and transactions include only proofs—but the data required to verify those proofs still needs to be stored and updated, eventually growing nearly as large as the blockchain’s full state. Buterin noted there are solutions to the issue, though they require multiple components and come with significant tradeoffs compared to Ethereum’s current setup. Earlier, DeFi content creator marilyn100x.eth highlighted Ethereum’s state storage problem, pointing out that developers pay a one-time upfront fee to write data, while nodes bear the long-term costs of storing that data. Proposed EIP-8037 is not a time-weighted rent or continuous fee model; instead, it would sharply increase initial gas fees for new contracts, accounts, and storage slots to curb state growth during the network’s scaling process.