Ethereum is undergoing a "quiet yet fundamental transformation" in 2026, shifting from an architecture where every node re-executes all transactions to verify a block, to one where nodes can verify the correctness of execution through zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proofs) . This shift, primarily enabled by EIP-8025 (Optional Execution Proof) , introduces an optional verification path. It does not replace the current system but runs alongside it, allowing nodes to choose their validation method . The transition is considered critical for nodes for the following reasons: 1. Drastic Reduction in Hardware Requirements Currently, a validator must run both an Execution Layer (EL) client and a Consensus Layer (CL) client. The EL client is particularly resource-intensive, requiring significant storage, bandwidth, and computational power to re-execute every transaction. This burden scales linearly with the gas limit . With proof-based verification, nodes acting as zkAttesters no longer need to run a full EL client. Instead, their CL client simply verifies a cryptographic proof. This process is computationally lightweight and takes the same amount of time regardless of transaction complexity . This makes running a node viable again on consumer-grade hardware. 2. Radical Improvement in Synchronization Speed Synchronizing a node from scratch is currently a lengthy process. The new model changes this fundamentally. Synchronization "boils down to downloading proofs for the latest blocks since the last finalization checkpoint," reducing the process from hours to just minutes . 3. Preserving Decentralization While Enabling Scalability There is an inherent tension between raising the gas limit (to increase network throughput) and maintaining decentralization (as higher hardware requirements price out home stakers). Proof-based verification breaks this deadlock. By decoupling verification work from execution complexity, it allows the network to scale throughput without proportionally increasing the cost of running a node . This ensures that independent stakers and home validators—the backbone of Ethereum's decentralization—can continue to participate as the network grows . 4. Dependency on ePBS The feasibility of this model relies on another upcoming upgrade: enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) , expected in the Glamsterdam hard fork. ePBS extends the proving window from 1-2 seconds to 6-9 seconds, creating enough time for proofs to be generated within a single slot . In summary, proof-based verification is critical because it transforms nodes from "re-executors" of work into "verifiers" of work. This resolves the long-standing scalability-trilemma bottleneck at the node level, ensuring Ethereum can scale without sacrificing the low barriers to entry that secure its decentralized validator set.