The Erigon development team has released version 3.5.0 of its Ethereum execution client, dubbed Tidal Tails. The update introduces parallel execution as the default configuration and includes initial support for the Glamsterdam devnet, marking a technical step toward forthcoming Ethereum network upgrades.
According to the official release notes, v3.5.0 is designed as a drop-in upgrade from v3.4, requiring no manual migration for existing nodes. The transition to parallel execution by default aims to improve performance and efficiency on standard hardware without increasing resource requirements.
Infrastructure and Performance Improvements
One of the most significant changes in Erigon 3.5.0 is how parallel execution is implemented under the hood. Rather than simply splitting workloads across CPU cores, the client uses a Block-STM (Software Transactional Memory) model that executes Ethereum transactions optimistically in parallel before validating the results against the blockchain state.
Only transactions that conflict with one another are re-executed, allowing most blocks to be processed more efficiently while maintaining deterministic execution. According to the Erigon team, this approach is designed to deliver higher throughput on existing hardware without sacrificing compatibility with Ethereum’s execution model.
The Erigon v3.5.0 release includes several optimizations focused on node maintenance and data accessibility:
- Leaner Nodes: The update implements slimmer pruning and retention defaults, intended to reduce the disk space required for full nodes.
- RPC Performance: Enhancements to the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) layer are aimed at increasing response speeds for applications interacting with the client.
- Restoration of GraphQL: The release restores native GraphQL support, providing additional options for querying blockchain data.
Alignment with Ethereum Upgrades
The inclusion of Glamsterdam support integrates the client with a specific development net used to test features slated for future Ethereum hard forks.
The project team has stated that Tidal Tails is intended to offer more performance from the same hardware specifications, reflecting an ongoing focus on execution layer optimization as Ethereum prepares for its next series of protocol enhancements.