After the big 'Shapella' update on Ethereum (ETH) last month, the developers started to give new information about the next big update, 'Dencun'.
The name is a combination of two simultaneous upgrades on the two main layers of the blockchain. The execution layer, where all the protocol rules are located, goes through the "Cancun" upgrade, while the consensus layer that ensures the validation of blocks is known as "Deneb".
"Proto-Danksharding" Is At The Center Of The New Ethereum Update
At the center of Dencun is EIP 4844, more commonly known as "proto-danksharding". The update bill aims to scale the blockchain by increasing the space allocated for data "blobs". The changes are also expected to reduce fees for tier 2 rollups.
Proto-danksharding is known as a way for rollups to add data to blocks more cheaply. Rollups are layer-2 protocols that perform transactions off-chain and publish their data on-chain.
The data in question is expensive because they are processed by all Ethereum nodes and saved forever. Proto-danksharding produces blobs of data that can be sent and added to blocks. The data in these blobs cannot be accessed by the EVM and is automatically deleted after a fixed period (1-3 months). This means that rollups can send their data much cheaper and pass the savings on to end users in the form of cheaper transactions.
At an official meeting today, Ethereum developers revealed the technical details of EIP 4844.
The update is expected to take place in late 2023 after a testing period on the Ropsten network.
*Not investment advice.
