Blob Launch: Ethereum’s Dencun Upgrade Goes Live on Mainnet
Updated: March 13, 2024, 10:20 AM EDT
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The upgrade, including EIP-4844, became active on the network at epoch 269568 (approximately 10:00 AM ET).
Ethereum Layer 2 Rollup can now use Blob instead of the “calldata” method for posting transactions. This provides a direct path to fee savings and can pass these savings on to end users.
Blob is designed to enhance Ethereum by improving data availability without impacting current infrastructure and reduce transaction costs at layer 2 such as Base, Optimism, Arbitrum One, zkSync, Starknet, etc. A separate fee market for blobs attempts to keep costs low even when network congestion is severe.
Some Layer 2 chains plan to integrate blobs immediately, while others may take some time to do so.
Other Dencun improvements
In addition to EIP-4844, eight other code updates have been added to Ethereum via Dencun.
This includes EIP-4788, which introduces “enshrined oracles” that improve communication between Ethereum’s two fundamental layers: the execution layer and the consensus layer.
Another improvement brought by Dencun is EIP-1153, which focuses on “ephemeral storage”, a feature needed for Uniswap version 4, which is released this year.
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