# The Burden of Proof(s): Code Merkleization

DevFeed: [The Burden of Proof(s): Code Merkleization](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-burden-of-proof-s-code-merkleization-16937.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2020/11/30/the-1x-files-code-merkleization>)

Author: Griffin Ichiba Hotchkiss

Published: 2020-11-30T00:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Ethereum Foundation Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/ethereum-foundation-blog.md>)

Topics: [Ethereum](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ethereum.md>), [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data.md>)

Tags: [bytecode](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/bytecode.md>), [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data.md>), [ethereum](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ethereum.md>), [research-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/research-development.md>), [smart-contract](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/smart-contract.md>), [storage](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/storage.md>)

## AI overview

The article explains Code Merkleization as a technique for reducing the size of Stateless Ethereum witnesses. Instead of including an entire smart contract's bytecode, a witness can include only the code portions touched by a transaction, while the article discusses trade-offs such as code-chunk size.

## Source excerpt

A note about the Stateless Ethereum initiative: Research activity has (understandably) slowed in the second half of 2020 as all contributors have adjusted to life on the weird timeline. But as the ecosystem moves incrementally closer to Serenity and the Eth1/Eth2 merge, Stateless Ethereum work will become increasingly relevant and...