All You Need to Know About Ethereum Dencun
Ethereum is gearing up for another significant upgrade to it’s network which it is calling Dencun and is scheduled for testing on Jan. 17, 2024 as uploaded to GitHub this upgrade introduces a groundbreaking process called "proto-danksharding." Which will see the chain become more accessible by enabling more traffic to be held on it’s network.
Originally slated for the last quarter of 2023, Dencun's release was rescheduled to 2024 due to the intricate engineering complexities involved. Ethereum developers are currently in the testing phase targeting Jan. 17 for the Goerli test network deployment.
The subsequent testing includes the Sepolia testnet on Jan. 31 and the Holesky testnet on Feb. 7. The developers plan to deploy the upgrade on the mainnet by the end of February with flexibility depending on testnet outcomes.
Photo-Danksharding
The heart of the Dencun upgrade lies in the implementation of Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844 also known as proto-danksharding. This innovative approach aims to address the scalability trilemma by introducing a process that significantly enhances Ethereum's transaction throughput.
Proto-danksharding introduces a new transaction type called a "blob-carrying transaction." Blobs, or Binary Large Objects provide a solution to the cost inefficiencies associated with the current data storage mechanism in Ethereum. Which is currently at over 90% of transaction costs on layer 2 rollups are attributed to storing data in the "CALLDATA" field which is processed by all Ethereum nodes and remains on the blockchain indefinitely.
With proto-danksharding, blobs operate under a separate market mechanism introducing a fee market for blob storage independent of block space demand. This approach aims to improve flexibility and efficiency in allocating network resources leading to lower transaction costs for both layer 2 users and operators.
Scalability
While proto-danksharding is an intermediate step Ethereum's long term vision involves full Danksharding. Danksharding, a form of sharding unique to Ethereum which leverages distributed data sampling across blobs to scale the network.
The introduction of Danksharding aims to overcome the scalability trilemma a challenge that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been addressing through continuous improvements.
Other features of Danksharding including proposer-builder separation (PBS) and data availability sampling (DAS) are part of Ethereum's roadmap to achieve a fully scaled and maximally resilient platform.
The Dencun upgradefalling under the roadmap's "The Surge" category aligns with Ethereum's commitment to ongoing development and enhancement.
Other upgrades Dencun Brings in
Beyond proto-danksharding the Dencun upgrade incorporates Ethereum Improvement Proposals like EIP-1153 and EIP-4788. EIP-1153 introduces a "transient storage" system further reducing transaction fees. On the other hand EIP-4788 enhances transparency by storing the root of each Beacon Chain block in a smart contract providing data that can be queried by applications for new features in bridges and staking pools.
As Ethereum gears up for the Dencun upgrade the implementation of proto-danksharding stands out as a revolutionary step towards achieving higher scalability and proves why Ethereum remains a relevant and popular blockchain.
The introduction of blobs which are independent of block space demand marks a significant improvement in transaction efficiency for layer 2 users and operators and frees up space as more and more people join the network.
Ethereum has continued to grow year on year with ongoing developments taking the chain from strength to strength with constant improvements which enable the chain to continue to perform and remain relevant well into the future. This upgrade is a little different to previous London hardfork which saw miners battle against the changes.
There hasn’t been as much noise but there is a lot of excitement from Ethereum’s work on finding away to retain the information on it’s blockchain without having to slow the network down.
These blobs will effectively see a separate store of information held on the blockchain which won’t require all the information to go across with each transaction reducing the amount of data and freeing up space and speed.
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