When cryptographic hashes are used to generate proofs of data in a binary tree then it is called a Merkle tree. It was created by Ralph Merkle in 1988. It is used with bitcoin and ethereum. It is a hash based mathematical data structure that assembles and put together the abstract of each operation in a block.
And when polynomial commitments are used to organize data and create witnesses for proofs of data it is called as Verkle Tree. It was created by John Kuszmaul in 2018. It is used with upcoming ethereum upgrades. The nodes of the Verkle tree resemble Ethereum’s current Merkle Patricia tree having three dominant properties. The first one is that it is empty, secondary its a leaf node with key and value, and thirdly, it is an intermediate node with an established number of children.
Hang on with us to know the reports on benefits and usage.
Benefits and Usage of Merkle Trees and Verkle Trees
Merkle trees perform easy analysis of whether data is accurate or not. It has very low storage requirements as it compresses the required data into much smaller sizes and does not store each transaction separately. For blockchains like Bitcoin and Etherum, Merkle trees are a must to operate and serve users.
Anyone with access to the tree root can verify and confirm the data of Verkel Tree. Comparatively, Verkle trees can reduce the proof sizes to 20 to 30 times smaller than Merkle trees. It is a must for future scalability because as crypto and blockchain are gaining popularity, Verkle trees are crucial for layer 1 blockchain to match demand.
You must be thinking about the usage of Merkle trees in blockchains. Bitcoin, ethereum, and hyperledger fabric are a few examples which use merkle trees. Bitcoin uses merkle trees to hash the transaction within a block in its blockchain. Proper verification of transactions is needed without having to transmit the entire block.
Etherum also uses Merkle trees to identify the authenticity of transactions. It allows efficient verification of smart contracts that permits the automatic completion of contracts between the buyer and the seller. Hyperledger Fabric also uses Merkle trees to authorize efficient verification of the authenticity of transactions.
Verkle trees have not been implemented in blockchains. But, the report confirms that it is going to be an important part of Etherum’s upcoming scalability upgrades. Its basics are very strong thus promising a bright future.
Both Merkle and Verkle trees are some of the core functionalities of technology.
At last, we can say that Merkle trees have been important for the functioning of blockchains. They permit blockchain like Bitcoin and Etherum to manage validation without storing each and every transaction separately. Merkle proofs are easy to update in a part due to its tree-like structure.
While Verkle tree is the promising future for handling the increasing demands for crypto and blockchain platforms. As per reports, they require very less storage than the Merkle trees thus providing faster performance for platforms. But, due to Polynomial Commitments in Verkle trees the update is not so easy as it requires a complete alteration of the entire curve, which could be difficult.
