Ethereum Geth, one of the most widely used client implementations for the Ethereum network, has seen a drastic decrease in usage in recent months as developers adopt alternative implementations. According to a recent tweet from Ethereum developer Danny Ryan, the share of Ethereum nodes using Geth has dropped from 90% to just over 66% in the past few months.
Execution layer client diversity has gotten much better over the last 6-12mo's with Geth going from ~90% marketshare to now ~66%.
This is thanks to more people adopting the Nethermind, Erigon, Besu & other EL clients.
Hoping to see client diversity get even better from here! pic.twitter.com/AC3n8l6C8t
— sassal.eth 🦇🔊 (@sassal0x) January 28, 2023
This shift in usage patterns is due to a number of factors, including the development of new, alternative Ethereum clients that offer improved performance, scalability, functionality, and security. The most notable of these alternative clients is Nevermind, which has seen significant growth in recent months and is now used by over 15% of Ethereum nodes.
One of the main reasons for the shift away from Geth is the desire for greater security. Ethereum is a decentralized platform, which means that it relies on a large network of nodes to process transactions and maintain its ledger of data. With Geth being the dominant client, it was seen as a single point of failure, which could potentially be exploited by attackers to compromise the network. The development of alternative clients such as Nevermind and Lighthouse has helped to reduce this risk by distributing the network across multiple implementations.
Another factor driving the shift away from Geth is improved performance. Nevermind, for example, has been designed to offer faster block times and improved synchronization speeds compared to Geth. It can also run on Autoprune, which makes running nodes a lot faster. This is particularly important for developers who need to quickly and efficiently process transactions, and for users who want to ensure that their transactions are confirmed quickly.
In addition to improved performance and security, alternative Ethereum clients also offer a number of other benefits. For example, Erigon includes support for new features such as Ethereum 2.0 and has been designed to make complete archive nodes viable with ~2TB storage. This makes it an attractive choice for developers who want to stay ahead of the curve and ensure that their projects are built on the most cutting-edge technology.
It’s important to note that despite the decline in usage, Geth remains a widely used and trusted client for the Ethereum network. However, the shift towards alternative clients is a clear indication of the growing demand for more secure and efficient solutions for Ethereum development. This is a positive development for the Ethereum ecosystem as a whole, as it will help to ensure that the network remains secure and efficient for years to come.
