Last week, Ethereum underwent its largest update to date – dubbed “Cancun” in Chinese. These updates are traditionally named after stars and cities. This update included the content of 9 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). Among these proposals, the most anticipated one is EIP-1559, considered a milestone in the path to expansion. EIP-1559, also known as “London”, draws inspiration from developers Tim Beiko and Vitalik Buterin. Why is this proposal so significant?So why is EIP-4844 so important? Firstly, it introduces the concept of “blobs”, which are temporary data storage locations within Ethereum blocks. Simply put, blobs are where new rollup data is added to the network. Rollup is a Layer 2 (L2) solution that helps alleviate network congestion by processing off-chain transactions and bringing them back on-chain. Because blob data is only temporary and expires after transactions are completed, it won’t persist in the block. Since blobs are temporary—similar to stories on Instagram (although in this case, designed to expire after 18 days)—they reduce Ethereum’s reliance on permanently storing data. This is also a step forward for Ethereum to be able to store more data by leveraging the availability of existing data.
DencunBenefits and results of Dencun upgrade Imagine if data never expires, it would add data to the blockchain every month (equivalent to days), meaning every year. This figure will continue to increase because data on the blockchain is stored permanently. By setting time limits for data, it reduces the need to store massive amounts of data – especially when most content can be stored off-chain using .Some argue that upgrading Dencun could lead to cost reductions ranging from 10 to 1000 times (this is just a preliminary estimate). However, the upgrade, called PeerDAS or “full danksharding,” aims to make rollups more efficient by increasing transaction throughput by an additional 32 times. The key innovation here is to add more shards without significantly increasing additional costs. Full danksharding will make rollups more efficient, potentially enabling much higher transaction throughput in the future while costing little, in the case of adding extra bus lanes.
The impact and application of Dencun upgrades are crucial for cheaper transaction fees, which are important for every user, as they make applications feasible that were previously impossible due to high costs. Since the upgrade also introduces the concept of ephemeral storage, smart contracts can now store data temporarily only during transactions (rather than permanent storage or only when executing contract calls). This means developers can now do more with less cost, as they now have a “mid-term” memory for smart contracts. As an analogy, think of different types of volatile memory upgrades in semiconductor innovation.
The upgrade also provides more tools for developers of liquidity staking protocols to understand what’s happening on the beacon chain, which will help gradually decentralize these protocols. Additionally, it will make certain memory-related smart contracts more cost-effective after the upgrade.
In summary:Although “merge” is a very important technical achievement, transitioning Ethereum from proof of work to proof of stake, we are currently entering the “Pouring Water” phase where continuous updates can further expand Ethereum’s capabilities. This update, like all others, has been planned for a long time (Ethereum even held a confidence-boosting implementation ceremony). But most importantly, all of these upgrades are the result of the continuous coordination and contributions of countless developers worldwide.