Dencun Upgrade Poised to Boost Ethereum’s Scalability, Lower Gas Fees in Early 2024
Summary:
In early 2024, the Ethereum network is set to witness vast reductions in gas fees and faster layer-2 transaction speeds with the Dencun upgrade. The upgrade, recently introduced on the Goerli testnet, includes Ethereum Improvement Proposals like EIP-4844 introducing proto-danksharding. This feature aims to significantly reduce layer-2 transaction costs. After successful implementation on Goerli, Sepolia and Holesky testnets are also set to undergo the Dencun upgrade. The update promises major improvements like increased storage efficiency and substantial cost reductions for developers, making rollups even more cost-effective.
The Ethereum network is on the verge of significant reductions in gas fees and faster transaction speeds for layer-2 rollups with the arrival of the Dencun upgrade on its three testnets in early 2024. The upgrade, enabled on the Goerli testnet on January 17, enacts several Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), including EIP-4844, which introduces proto-danksharding; an eagerly awaited development set to decrease layer-2 transaction costs. Nevertheless, there was a hiccup on the Goerli network during the hard fork, discovered to be a bug in the Prysm. The bug is now identified and being resolved, with a hot patch image launching shortly.
Early reports stated that the launch of Dencun on Goerli hit a four-hour delay due to the bug that hindered the testnet from finalizing the upgrade. Nebojsa Urosevic, co-founder of the Ethereum development platform Tenderly, shed light on the bug. He noted that an issue with Prysm, Ethereum's proof-of-stake client, stopped the network from synchronising with nodes. These delays are frequent, facilitating the identification and quick resolution of the bug. Following successful implementation on Goerli, Sepolia and Holesky testnets are next on the agenda for Dencun upgrade. After success on these three testnets, plans for a mainnet upgrade can be devised.
According to the official Ethereum blog, Dencun integrates 9 distinct EIPs. Urosevic emphasized proto-danksharding and blob transactions as the most critical of the EIPs. He explained that data blobs enable improved storage efficiency by making transaction data temporarily available in an 'efficient' format, which proves more cost-effective than calldata, potentially cutting costs by 80-90%.
Significant storage improvements are on the horizon with Dencun's implementation. As per Phillippe Schommers, Infrastructure Director at Ethereum sidechain Gnosis, Dencun provides more block space, lowers L2 costs, and allows for automatic data discard after two weeks. Furthermore, Urosevic echoed such developments, noting that ideal storage improvements are a vital impact of the Dencun upgrade.
The Dencun upgrade is predicted to lessen rollup transaction costs by up to ten times, increasing the scalability of rollups significantly by lowering operating expenses. Anurag Arjun, co-founder of data availability blockchain Avail, believes that the increasing demand for blockspace from rollups in 2023 indicates a rise in the request for blockspace for L2 data availability.
While Ethereum network upgrades aim for lower costs and faster transactions, protocols like Avail might help to meet the block space demands of rollups in the meantime by reducing transaction fees by 90%. According to Urosevic, multiple EIPs will contribute to improved storage efficiency, decreased gas fees, and an overall enhanced experience for developers, while making rollups even more cost-effective after the mainnet implementation of Dencun's upgrade.
Published At
1/22/2024 10:37:06 AM
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