Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin promises lower gas fees in the coming days. With just a few days away, Dencun Hard Fork is set to go live on March 13 [Beacon slot 8626176] at 13:55 UTC. While there are a bunch of EIPs coming with the hard fork, the two notable mentions are: EIP4844 [aka blobs, aka proto-danksharding], which adds a new transaction type to Ethereum that enables lower fees for layer 2’s that post their data to Ethereum [aka rollups].
The other EIP4788 creates an “enshrined oracle” that is set to ramp up communication between Ethereum’s execution and consensus layers. Users anticipate a potential reduction in layer 1 fees, not just layer 2 solutions. As reported by TronWeekly, blobs are temporary data packets that clear up space on the mainnet.
EIP-4844 enables a new blob gas market to address scalability issues on ethereum by creating space for “blobs” of data, which can be used by L2s for settlement instead of calldata. This is expected to reduce fees for L2s.
But everyday users are still curious about the impact of the Dencun upgrade on layer 1 fees. Tim Beiko discussed this recently, and it seems that while it directly reduces congestion on the main chain, the decrease in layer 1 fees is indirect. As of now, it primarily affects Layer 2. The implementation of Danksharding is anticipated to address layer 1 fees, but its execution will require some time.
Ethereum: Dealing Quantum Emergency
From a trading perspective, the Dencun upgrade is anticipated to act as a positive catalyst for Ethereum. According to Bitrue analysts, the transition from proof-of-stake to proof-of-work in 2022, coupled with the burning mechanism reducing ETH supply, has bolstered investor confidence. Recent data suggests a favorable trading environment for Ethereum, with bullish sentiment reflected in short-term call buying and a resurgence of interest from traders.
Moving on, Vitalik recently shed light on how to protect the platform from potential quantum computing threats. A combination of hard fork and the adoption of advanced cryptographic techniques would mitigate these risks. He said, “We are already well-positioned to make a pretty simple recovery fork to deal with such a situation.