a16z, the crypto arm of Silicon Valley VC Andreessen Horowitz, has launched Helios, a light Ethereum client that syncs trustlessly to Ethereum in two seconds, doesn’t take up any storage space and can run on smartphones.
Helios converts information from untrustworthy nodes, such as those that run on centralized cloud computing providers servers, into non-manipulable data that runs on local, trustworthy computers.
Consequently, users can verify the authenticity of their queries without having to run a full node. That’s helpful, since running a full node requires downloading a terabyte of data – a capacity most phones don’t have.
The client comprises an execution layer and a consensus layer. Helios couples these layers together tightly so that users only have to install a single piece of software.
Helios is written in Rust and supports a popular code for web browsers, WebAssembly. Developers can embed Helios inside Javascript-based wallets and decentralized applications.
