While much research focuses on different methods to secure blockchain, information on the chain needs to be accessed by end-users to be useful. This position paper surveys different ways that end-users may access blockchains. We observe that between the two extremes of running a full node and fully utilizing a trusted third-party service, many solutions regarding light nodes are emerging. We analyze these solutions based on three basic properties of web communication: integrity, availability and privacy. We conclude that currently, the best way to access a blockchain while maintaining these three properties is still to run a full node. We consider it essential that future blockchain accessibility services should be built while considering these three expectations.
@article{arxiv.2212.03383,
title = {Last Mile of Blockchains: RPC and Node-as-a-service},
author = {Zhongtang Luo and Rohan Murukutla and Aniket Kate},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2212.03383},
year = {2025}
}