LibraryStorage and networks2024Design paperCorpus record
eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts
EIP 7642. Marius van der Wijden , Felix Lange , Ahmad Bitar.
EIP 7642, eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts. This EIP modifies the 'eth' p2p protocol to announce the historical block range served by the node.
Status in the source: Final. A reading of the public specification, not a copy of it and not a certification.
eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts is worth reading for the rule it actually adds: This EIP modifies the 'eth' p2p protocol to announce the historical block range served by the node.
The five-minute read
The rule
This EIP modifies the 'eth' p2p protocol to announce the historical block range served by the node.
What was already failing
A node that cannot fetch, filter, or relay the data it is supposed to validate is not a peer of the network the paper describes.
What the number does not mean
The source marks this final. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it.
What a builder should be able to point at
An implementation either constrains eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts or it is a different design.
One action, walked through
- Open EIP 7642 and read the status line before the examples.
- Write down the rule in one sentence. A fair version of that sentence is: This EIP modifies the 'eth' p2p protocol to announce the historical block range served by the node.
- Name the object that changes: eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts.
- Ask what an old client, an old contract, or an offline counterparty does. If the document is silent, the silence is part of the design.
The argument, unpacked
What the text is allowed to settle
Ethereum Improvement Proposal 7642 can settle the shape of eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts. It cannot settle whether a later client, a later fork, or a later wallet still does this.
What this page will not pretend
There is no benchmark, no adoption number, and no claim that the mechanism is safe outside the assumptions written in the source.
What has to be true
- You are implementing EIP 7642 at the status the text itself states: Final.
- The object that has to change is eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts. A neighbouring document with a similar name is not this one.
- Measurements of delay in one year do not travel with the specification.
What happened after the paper
The source marks this final. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it. Later documents can narrow, replace, or ignore this one. Cite the number you mean.
What to check before you use the idea
- Which message does eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts add, and which old peer must still be answered?
- What does a node do when the short form fails and the full object is required?
- Which names are normative: eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts?
Terms
- EIP 7642
- The public text titled eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts.
- Final
- The document's own label for how finished the text is. It is not a market fact.
The problem the paper names
A node that cannot fetch, filter, or relay the data it is supposed to validate is not a peer of the network the paper describes.
What the design proposes
- This EIP modifies the 'eth' p2p protocol to announce the historical block range served by the node.
- We also simplify the handshake to remove total difficulty information, which isn't used anymore after the merge.
- Additionally we propose to remove the Bloom field from receipts transferred over the protocol.
How the mechanism is specified
- Taken from the specification, the next constraint is: We also simplify the handshake to remove total difficulty information, which isn't used anymore after the merge.
- Locate eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts in EIP 7642 and apply it to one transaction or call.
- Then check the failure the class of rule always has: a node that did not upgrade, a reverted call, a replayed signature, or a peer that does not speak the message.
What this page does not treat as proven
- A peer protocol is not a consensus rule. A peer can disconnect. A block is still valid or not on its own.
- Measurements of delay in one year do not travel with the specification.
- The source marks this final. That is a statement about the text, not a promise that every wallet or node has shipped it.
Why a venture studio still reads it
Use EIP 7642 when a pitch says 'eth/69 - history expiry and simpler receipts' without saying whether the rule is consensus, policy, or an interface. The number is the citation. The pitch is not.
This is Blockchain Lab's reading of a public design paper. It is not the paper, not a copy of it, and not an offer of tokens, equity, custody or a partnership. Later network behaviour can diverge from the text. Nothing here is investment, legal or technical advice.
Research status: Design paper. Last reviewed: 1 October 2026. This is a reading of a public paper, not investment, legal or security advice.
