Vitalik Buterin suggested Ethereum users can tailor their nodes to keep only accounts, apps, tokens, or other frequently used data

Quotes that support claims

This means that users could configure their nodes only to save data related to their accounts, the decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and their commonly used tokens like stablecoins and Ether.

The system would also allow users to configure what data their node stores, like common smart contracts, tokens, or specific apps, using a simple onchain setting. Users wouldn’t need to store Merkle proofs (the complex cryptographic trees that secure blockchain state), as only raw data suffices.