diff --git a/execution/commitment/hex_patricia_hashed.go b/execution/commitment/hex_patricia_hashed.go
index f526dc75cbd..2d9c8b6bb05 100644
--- a/execution/commitment/hex_patricia_hashed.go
+++ b/execution/commitment/hex_patricia_hashed.go
@@ -1914,7 +1914,7 @@ func (hph *HexPatriciaHashed) foldPropagate(row int, nibble, upDepth, depth int1
 	// propagate cell into parent row
 	upCell.fillFromLowerCell(cell, depth, hph.currentKey[upDepth:hph.currentKeyLen], childNibble)
 
-	if err := hph.collectDeleteUpdate(updateKey, row, true); err != nil {
+	if err := hph.collectDeleteUpdate(updateKey, row); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	if hph.traceW != nil {
@@ -1946,15 +1946,14 @@ func (hph *HexPatriciaHashed) foldDelete(row int, nibble, upDepth int16, upCell
 	}
 
 	upCell.reset()
-	return hph.collectDeleteUpdate(updateKey, row, true)
+	return hph.collectDeleteUpdate(updateKey, row)
 }
 
 // collectDeleteUpdate encodes a branch deletion if a branch existed before at this row.
-// If evictCache is true, it also evicts the branch from the cache.
-func (hph *HexPatriciaHashed) collectDeleteUpdate(updateKey []byte, row int, evictCache bool) error {
+func (hph *HexPatriciaHashed) collectDeleteUpdate(updateKey []byte, row int) error {
 	if hph.branchBefore[row] {
 		if err := hph.branchEncoder.CollectUpdate(hph.ctx, updateKey, 0, hph.touchMap[row], 0, nil, false); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("failed to encode leaf node update: %w", err)
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to encode branch deletion: %w", err)
 		}
 	}
 	return nil
diff --git a/execution/commitment/keys_nibbles.go b/execution/commitment/keys_nibbles.go
index f6474b14945..5aa2efa3a4f 100644
--- a/execution/commitment/keys_nibbles.go
+++ b/execution/commitment/keys_nibbles.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package commitment
 
 import (
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
@@ -107,30 +106,6 @@ func NibblesToString(nibbles []byte) string {
 	return b.String()
 }
 
-// CompactKey takes a slice of nibbles and compacts them into the original byte slice.
-// It returns an error if the input contains invalid nibbles (values > 0xF).
-func CompactKey(nibbles []byte) ([]byte, error) {
-	// If the number of nibbles is odd, you might decide to handle it differently.
-	// For this example, we'll return an error.
-	if len(nibbles)%2 != 0 {
-		return nil, errors.New("nibbles slice has an odd length")
-	}
-
-	key := make([]byte, len(nibbles)/2)
-	for i := range key {
-		highNibble := nibbles[i*2]
-		lowNibble := nibbles[i*2+1]
-
-		// Validate that each nibble is indeed a nibble
-		if highNibble > 0xF || lowNibble > 0xF {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid nibble at position %d or %d: 0x%X, 0x%X", i*2, i*2+1, highNibble, lowNibble)
-		}
-
-		key[i] = (highNibble << 4) | (lowNibble & 0x0F)
-	}
-	return key, nil
-}
-
 // updatedNibs returns a string of nibbles that are set in the given number.
 func updatedNibs(num uint16) string {
 	var nibbles []string
diff --git a/execution/commitment/streaming_deep_fold.go b/execution/commitment/streaming_deep_fold.go
index 14c5bce4db0..f975c828acf 100644
--- a/execution/commitment/streaming_deep_fold.go
+++ b/execution/commitment/streaming_deep_fold.go
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ func storageRootFromSingleChild(base *HexPatriciaHashed) (cell, error) {
 
 	// The prior on-disk branch at the account prefix, if any, is now an extension: no branch record.
 	if base.branchBefore[0] {
-		if err := base.collectDeleteUpdate(nibbles.HexToCompact(base.currentKey[:base.currentKeyLen]), 0, true); err != nil {
+		if err := base.collectDeleteUpdate(nibbles.HexToCompact(base.currentKey[:base.currentKeyLen]), 0); err != nil {
 			return cell{}, err
 		}
 	}