What is Erigon and How Does It Help Blockchain Development? (In Plain English)

Building a website from scratch would be extremely time intensive.

This is why companies such as Wix and Wordpress build out templates for users to quickly and easily create their own variations.

This analogy works well with Erigon, which essentially a template that allows developers and validators to perform functions on EVM compatible software.

What is Erigon?

Erigon is an open-source implementation of an Ethereum client, which means it is software that can interact with the Ethereum blockchain network. It is designed to be lightweight and efficient, making it a popular choice for running Ethereum nodes, including archive nodes.

Erigon is built in the Golang programming language and is known for its fast sync times and low resource usage. It supports all of the features of the Ethereum network, including smart contracts, tokens, and decentralized applications.

“Erigon is very useful as a Archive Full node client, or RPC endpoint client. It's an Archive Full node by default, and stores 80% less data than Go-ethereum (geth) Archive Full node. Erigon takes up to a month to fully sync, so for most users, they will not run Erigon, but Go-ethereum (geth) instead.”

- GammaDevOps

Erigon was originally developed by a team of Ethereum developers and researchers at the Ethereum Foundation, and it has since been adopted by other developers and organizations within the Ethereum ecosystem. Its focus on performance and scalability make it a promising option for the future of the Ethereum network.

How Does Erigon Work?

Erigon is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) client, the runtime environment for smart contracts in the Ethereum ecosystem.  The EVM is a virtual machine that executes smart contracts on the Ethereum network.  Erigon improves upon the EVM by introducing several optimizations, such as faster block processing, efficient storage usage, and optimized code execution.

Erigon also utilizes a pruning mechanism that removes old and unnecessary data from the blockchain, reducing the storage space required to run the node.  This optimization improves the synchronization process, making it faster and more efficient.

What is an Erigon Node?

Erigon nodes are instances of the Erigon software running on a computer or server. Erigon is an implementation of an Ethereum client, which means it is software that can interface with the Ethereum network.

When you run an Erigon node, it connects to other nodes on the Ethereum network and begins downloading and verifying the blockchain data. This allows the node to interact with the Ethereum network, send and receive transactions, and access data from the blockchain.

Erigon nodes can be used for a variety of purposes related to Ethereum, including:

1. Running full nodes: Erigon can be used to run a full node on the Ethereum network, which means it stores a complete copy of the blockchain and can validate transactions and smart contract code.
2. Running archive nodes: Erigon is particularly useful for running archive nodes, which store a complete copy of the entire Ethereum blockchain, including historical data. These nodes are important for developers and researchers who need to access historical data from the Ethereum network.
3. Mining Ethereum: Erigon can also be used for mining Ethereum, which is the process of using computational power to validate transactions and create new blocks on the blockchain.

What is an Erigon Archive Node?

An Erigon archive node is a type of software node that runs on the Ethereum network. It is designed to store a complete copy of the entire Ethereum blockchain, including all historical transactions and smart contract code.

This type of node is useful for developers and researchers who need to access historical data from the Ethereum network, as it provides a way to search and analyze the entire history of the network. Archive nodes are also important for ensuring the security and integrity of the network, as they provide redundancy and backup for the blockchain data.

You can find the Erigon Archive Node here.

Benefits of Erigon

One of the significant benefits of Erigon is its speed. Erigon can process transactions faster than many other blockchain protocols, making it an ideal choice for developers looking to build high-performance dApps.

Another advantage of Erigon is its scalability. Erigon can handle a larger number of transactions per second than other blockchain protocols, making it suitable for building large-scale dApps.

Erigon is also highly secure. It implements several security features, such as cryptographic algorithms, that make it difficult for attackers to compromise the network.

Erigon and PulseChain

The Pulsechain development team plans to use Erigon as one of their 4 clients.

The #PulseChain V3 testnet is coming along fine. There are 4 Pulsechain Clients: go-pulse, prysm-pulse, erigon-pulse and lighthouse-pulse. Here's a screenshot of the PulseChain Private Testnet Beacon Explorer. pic.twitter.com/gE8gPACy4y

— Richard Heart (@RichardHeartWin) January 19, 2023