Ethereum Eyes Bitcoin-Inspired Overhaul for Simple Payments

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has endorsed a plan to rebuild how the network handles simple payments. The plan involves copying a method used by Bitcoin since 2009.

The current system stores every account ever created on each node worldwide, making it heavier to run as new accounts are added. This has been a problem for years, and Buterin has previously warned about the buildup of data.

Bitcoin's design uses 'unspent transaction outputs' (UTXOs) to count individual coins instead of running account balances. Ethereum researcher Toni Wahrstatter published an answer in July that borrowed this method.

The new model would allow recipients to receive payments without needing to have the Ethereum token, ETH, in their wallet beforehand. It also proposes letting computers bundle many transaction checks into one compact package, reducing the load on the network.