This efficiency gain is particularly notable given the current worst-case scenario for proof size is around 1 MB. Such a large size is primarily due to the need for lite clients to verify the entire coinbase transaction to confirm its authenticity and place within the merkle tree, an essential step for preventing the acceptance of fraudulent transactions. Although large coinbase transactions are uncommon due to their impact on miners' ability to include fee-paying transactions, their potential does necessitate consideration in discussions and documentation.

An alternative solution to optimize verification processes without compromising security involves a soft fork that introduces a commitment to tree depth, utilizing only 4 bits of data. This approach would not significantly increase the bandwidth requirements for Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) clients. However, it does carry certain drawbacks, such as potentially limiting the availability of version bits for miners in the future and complicating SPV operations slightly more than the original design outlined in the Bitcoin whitepaper. Despite these concerns, the commitment to tree depth could be accommodated within the block header version, leveraging the unused BIP8/9 version bits or the BIP320 version bits, which currently satisfy miner requirements. This proposal underscores the ongoing efforts to balance efficiency, security, and scalability in blockchain technology development.