Shipyard, a critical maintainer of libp2p—the peer-to-peer networking stack that supports Ethereum and numerous other networks—has announced that it will discontinue support for its Go and JavaScript implementations by September 30. The decision is attributed to ongoing resource constraints faced by the team. In a recent blog post, the Shipyard team confirmed that they are working towards transitioning stewardship of these implementations to the community.
Libp2p serves as the backbone of Ethereum’s peer-to-peer networking layer, providing essential protocol suites that consensus clients utilize to discover peers, exchange messages, and disseminate blocks and attestations across the network. It is instrumental for Ethereum clients as they rely on libp2p’s Gossipsub pub/sub protocol for the rapid broadcasting of new blocks and validator votes—an operation that is crucial for adhering to strict slot deadlines necessary for the chain’s smooth operation.
Prominent figures in engineering and academia have voiced concerns regarding the current state of libp2p support. MIT professor and Optimum co-founder Muriel Médard criticized the status quo as “against good engineering practice.” Médard has been developing an alternative called OptimumP2P (mumP2P), which is a drop-in, API-compatible replacement for Gossipsub. She emphasized that hardwiring unnecessary elements can result in fragility and dependencies that could destabilize the network.
In light of this situation, Tea Protocol emerges as a potential solution to address funding challenges within the open-source software community. This blockchain-based system aims to map open-source dependencies, rank projects based on their criticality, and allocate token rewards and security bounties to maintainers, thereby promoting sustainable long-term support. Tea co-founder Max Howell, who is also known for creating Homebrew, noted that open-source software has evolved beyond merely being “a public good” and has become a fundamental infrastructure.
As the ecosystems relying on libp2p gear up for a transition, concerns mount regarding a possible slowdown in addressing bugs or security vulnerabilities due to the departure of Shipyard and the loss of their institutional knowledge. Howell pointed out that the current incentives are inadequate for open-source maintainers to prioritize security effectively.
Timothy Lewis, another co-founder of Tea, outlined that libp2p occupies a significant position in the protocol ranking graph, representing the layer of active protocols and standards crucial for maintaining ecosystems like Ethereum. Tea’s innovative approach includes tracking the importance of code through a system known as tea rank, which utilizes package manager data, and is now expanding to graph these protocols.
In parallel, alternatives such as mumP2P are in development. Médard described mumP2P as providing a similar pub-sub interface to libp2p while employing Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) to reduce redundancy and latency inherent in Gossipsub. She argued that Gossipsub struggles under stress, leading to propagation bottlenecks that hinder Ethereum’s scalability. In contrast, mumP2P utilizes “equations” instead of repetitive messages, significantly lowering latency, although the technology remains in testing.
The future of libp2p now rests on the shoulders of new community maintainers, including those from within the cryptocurrency sector. The question of whether initiatives like Tea can secure sustainable funding for the crucial but often overlooked work of maintenance looms large. With the prospect of a mainnet launch on the horizon, Lewis underscored the importance of ensuring that core protocols supporting Web3 are not neglected but rather are effectively maintained for long-term viability.
