TL;DR
- According to developers for the Ethereum blockchain, the long-awaited Dencun upgrade, with its popular proto-dank sharding feature, is set to occur on March 13th, 2024.
- Dencun upgrade is designed to minimize costs for layer-2 transactions and data availability on Ethereum, making it the blockchain’s most significant change since April 2023.
Ethereum Cheap Again with Blobs Via Dencun Upgrade
Top developers for the Ethereum blockchain have set a date for the long-awaited Dencun upgrade.
It has officially triggered the countdown to March 13th, 2024, as one of the blockchain’s biggest changes since April 2023.
The Dencun upgrade is famous for its proto-danksharding feature. The feature primarily reduces costs for transactions on the layer-2 networks built on Ethereum.
It quickly does so by offering a massive space for data storage. The move was announced during the all-core developer’s consensus layer call 127.
This is just one day after successfully adding the upgrade to the Holesky testnet without any obstacles.
These blobs are especially beneficial to Ethereum’s layer-2 blockchains, which will have more of their transactions stored in the network’s blocks. For users, this will result in layer-2 fees that are at least 10 times cheaper.
Crypto Analyst Rony Szuster explains the concept of blobs.
Proto-Danksharding to Reduce Costs and Data Availability
The exact moment for the Dencun upgrade on the primary Ethereum(ETH) network—hard fork would only occur when the blockchain reaches slot 8626176.
It will precisely occur at 13.55 UTC on March 13. In any case, the date can be changed at any time by developers and confirmed through the open-source software platform GitHub.
The Dencun upgrade will introduce several Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), including the EIP-4844.
This particular one enables proto-danksharding—a new type of transaction class that will help reduce the costs of transactions.
It will minimize transaction costs for rollups by introducing data “blobs” for data storage. Moreover, it will lower the cost of data available on Ethereum.
They make projects like Celestia, EigenDA, and Avail more appealing. More so now that Starknet and Celestia are collaborating to enhance data availability on the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum developers have done three tests to ensure Dencun will run efficiently on the mainnet. The recent introduction of the Holesky testnet is a true testament to these efforts.
Proto-danksharding will be the first phase of a broader technical feature, danksharding, a scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum’s New Era of Improved Functionality and Scalability
The Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade marks a pivotal moment in blockchain’s evolution. It will create a new beginning with improved functionality and scalability.
Market watchers believe that the move could also benefit Ethereum itself. However, the reduction of fees on Ethereum may only be marginal.
However, the move will give Ethereum a competitive edge in the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) sectors. Areas that it currently holds significant dominance.
Ethereum developers are optimistic about the Dencun upgrade, a crucial element of the blockchain’s roadmap.
They’re already making integrations for the next hard fork. The upcoming Prague/Electra hard fork may incorporate “Verkle Trees.”
It is a novel data structure that will facilitate node storage of massive amounts of data without affecting block validation capabilities.
Will Dencun’s upgrade improve the Ethereum blockchain by enhancing its capabilities to meet the growing demands of its user base?
Julia Zakharchuk
Julia is a professional crypto and blockchain writer known for her insightful YouTube channel "MoneyFest." She showcases her dynamic presentation skills as a host and moderator at blockchain conferences. Julia drives also business development at ChainUp and advises UNITBOX, an innovative NFT renting protocol. With her exceptional expertise, Julia is a highly valued industry contributor and is set to make a lasting impact. We at Coinweb are lucky to have her on board.
