a16z launches trustless access to the Ethereum Blockchain and offers 2-second synchronization
US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) rolls out Helios, a Rust-based Ethereum light client the company developed with the aim of providing completely trustless access to the Ethereum blockchain.
The announcement was made by a16z crypto, the company’s venture capital fund that invests in crypto and web3-focused startups.
“One of the main reasons we use blockchains is trustlessness. This property promises to give us sovereign access to our wealth and data. For the most part, blockchains like Ethereum have delivered on this promise – our assets are truly ours,” the crypto fund said.
“But there are concessions we have made for the sake of convenience. One such area is our use of centralized remote procedure call (RPC) servers.”
Users typically access the Ethereum blockchain through centralized providers such as Alchemy, and these businesses run high-performance nodes on cloud servers to provide others with easy access to chain data, according to a16z crypto.
“When a wallet queries its token balances or checks whether a pending transaction is included in a block, it almost always does so through one of these centralized providers. The problem with the existing system is that users need to trust the providers, and there is no way to verify the accuracy of their questions,” the fund said, adding that the solution was designed to address this issue.
The Silicon Valley firm says Helios, whose use of Ethereum’s light client protocol was made possible by the blockchain’s switch ro proof of stake, converts data from an untrusted RPC provider to an RPC that is verifiably secure and local.
“Helios works together with centralized RPCs to make it possible to verify their authenticity without running a full node,” according to a16z. It “is an Ethereum light client that syncs in around two seconds, requires no storage and provides completely trustless access to Ethereum. Like all Ethereum clients, Helios consists of an execution layer and a consensus layer. Unlike most other clients, Helios connects close both layers together so that users only need to install and run a single piece of software.”
The crypto fund says it invites Helios’ users to check the code base and submit bug reports, feature requests and code to allow a16z crypto to further develop the solution’s capabilities.
Over the past few years, the American firm has developed its investments in the cryptosphere. In May 2022, the venture capital specialist announced a fourth fund of $4.5 billion, bringing its total funds raised to more than $7.6 billion.
However, last month it was reported that the value of a16z’s flagship crypto fund fell by as much as 40% in the first half of this year alone. Industry observers noted that the 40% drop in value is much larger than the 10% to 20% drop reported by a number of other venture funds this year.
