Ethereum's 'Dencun' Upgrade Set for Testing, Promises Lower Transaction Fees and Enhanced Transparency
Summary:
Ethereum's forthcoming upgrade, "Cancun-Deneb" or "Dencun", is set for testing on January 17. The upgrade, which includes tools to cut transaction fees and limit self-destruct operations on smart contracts, will be trialled on the Goerli testnet, Sepolia and Holesky in succession. It includes Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844, or "proto-danksharding" that will reduce transaction fees on layer-2s. Other proposals encompass "transient storage" to further lower costs and increased transparency in blockchain applications. The upgrade and its impacts will undergo months of testing before mainnet implementation.
The approaching upgrade for Ethereum, titled "Cancun-Deneb" also known as "Dencun", is set to enter its testing phase starting January 17, as per an announcement on the official Ethereum Github repository. The forthcoming upgrade will initially be trialled on the Goerli testnet, followed by implementation on Sepolia as of January 30 and Holesky from February 7. Ethereum's team hasn't revealed a date for Dencun's launch on the mainnet yet.
The anticipated upgrade comprises several tools crafted to cut transaction fees, introduce new feature facets for bridges and staking pools, and curb the usage of self-destruct operations within smart contracts. As delineated in the developer documents, Dencun embeds Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844 or "proto-danksharding". This will empower layer-2 rollup networks such as Arbitrum, Base, Polygon zkEVM, among others, to hold specific transaction data in a temporary manner using a novel format called "blobs". Unlike the ongoing process of preserving the data endlessly in the CALLDATA field, "blobs" permit data deletion post 18 days. The Ethereum developers affirm that "proto-danksharding" has the potential to dramatically cut down transaction costs on layer-2s.
Further, the Dencun upgrade holds other proposals such as EIP-1153 that espouses a "transient storage" mechanism for additional cost reduction. It also incorporates EIP-4788 aimed at boosting transparency through the storage of each Beacon chain block's root in a smart contract that can be accessed by applications. It is projected that EIP-4788 data will be utilized for new features linked to bridges and staking pools.
Moreover, Dencun integrates EIP-6780 designed to restrict the usage of the self-destruct keyword. As it stands, if inserted in a contract ahead of deployment, self-destructs can be utilized to wipe out the code of a smart contract and send all its funds to the account responsible for its deployment. Post-Dencun, this keyword will be unable to erase the code unless it is summoned in the same transaction it was deployed. However, moving forward, the keyword will continue to transfer all funds to the deployer, even if it is activated in a later transaction.
As a standard practice, Ethereum's upgrades typically go through testing for several months prior to being rolled out on the mainnet. The previous upgrade, named "Shapella", commenced its testing phase on February 7 and was introduced to the mainnet on April 12.
Published At
12/21/2023 9:20:00 PM
Disclaimer: Algoine does not endorse any content or product on this page. Readers should conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the asset, company, or any information in this article and assume full responsibility for their decisions. This article should not be considered as investment advice. Our news is prepared with AI support.
Do you suspect this content may be misleading, incomplete, or inappropriate in any way, requiring modification or removal?
We appreciate your report.