a16z unveils Helios to provide trustless access to Ethereum
Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto firm, a16z, has launched an Ethereum light client called Helios that will provide trustless access to the Ethereum network.
a16z launches Helios providing fully trustless access to Ethereum
a16z Crypto, a prominent venture capital fund investing in crypto and Web3, has announced the launch of Helios, a Rust-based Ethereum Light client, to provide fully trustless access to Ethereum
a16z made the big reveal via a press release on its website yesterday, November 7.
According to the firm’s public statement, its new release Helios has unmatched qualities. Helios synchronizes in around two seconds, requires no storage, and allows users to access secure chain data from any device with the same functionality as a full node. With this new invention, a16z provides users with trustless access to Ethereum.
The tech firm claims that “Helios — which uses Ethereum’s light client protocol, made possible by the recent switch to proof of stake — converts data from an untrusted centralized RPC provider into a verifiably safe, local RPC. Helios works together with centralized RPCs to make it possible to verify their authenticity without running a full node.” According to a16z Crypto, Helios tackles the common pain point of the tradeoff between portability and decentralization.
The Ethereum light client: Helios
Following the recent conversion to Proof of Stake, enabling Ethereum to introduce its light client protocol, new opportunities have been opened for efficiently communicating with the blockchain and verifying RPC endpoints with the least amount of hardware. The new initiative, Helios, leverages this opportunity.
a16z’s Helios is a “fully trustless, efficient, and portable Ethereum light client written in Rust.” Helios converts an untrusted centralized RPC endpoint into a safe unmanipulable local RPC for its users. Without maintaining a complete node, it collaborates with centralized RPCs to provide authenticity verification.
Explaining its new project, a16z wrote:
“The Helios execution layer uses these authenticated beacon chain blocks in tandem with an untrusted execution layer RPC to prove arbitrary information about the chain state such as account balances, contract storage, transaction receipts, and smart contract call results. These components work together to serve users a fully trustless RPC, without running a full node.”
Although Helios has an execution layer and a consensus layer, much like any other Ethereum client, it surpasses others by its ability to securely connect two levels, unlike the majority of clients, so that users only need to install and execute one piece of software. The entire size of Helios’s binary is 13Mb and should be easy to compile into WebAssembly. This makes it a perfect target to embed directly inside wallets and dapps.
a16z calls for support on new Helios project
Announcing the limitless possibilities of Helios, a16z has called for contributions to Helios. Noah Citron, a Research Engineer at a16z has invited the crypto community to contribute to Helios’ codebase, stating that they can also build software that integrates Helios to take advantage of its benefits.
As expected, a16z’s announcement was gladly received by the crypto community. However, several users are skeptical about its durability. In its recently published article, GitHub, a crypto intelligence platform, has advised users to take caution in using Helios. According to GitHub:
“Helios is still experimental software. While we hope you try it out, we do not suggest adding it as your main RPC in wallets yet. Sending high-value transactions from a wallet connected to Helios is discouraged.”
