Scalability is one of the biggest challenges facing first- and second-generation blockchain networks like Ethereum, so developers are scrambling to find a feasible solution.
Ethereum is preparing to take a new evolutionary leap in its scalability, with the arrival of EIP-4844. This proposed improvement to the Ethereum network will introduce a series of changes and features that will allow the blockchain to become more scalable and accessible.
Under the name of "Shard Blob Transactions«This improvement will reduce gas fees and increase the efficiency of the entire network. Along with this change we will also see the arrival of «Proto-Danksharding», which will introduce a New transaction format compatible with sharding, which is the ultimate goal of Ethereum to ensure its scalability.
Let's remember that sharding or fragmentation refers to the ability to divide the blockchain into different subchains, which when merged allow us to recreate the main chain and its entire history. This is a very powerful scaling technique that Ethereum developers want to integrate into the project to, once and for all, solve the network's scalability problem.
EIP-4844: Data Blobs on Ethereum
One of the most notable features of the EIP-4844 improvement proposal is the well-known «blobs or data groups»As mentioned above, EIP-4844 will introduce a new transaction format to the blockchain, which will enable the use of this feature. This new format supports data blobs that are stored on the Beacon Chain, which will allow the network to handle a large volume of data in a short period of time. All without the need to compete with the gas usage of transactions in the block.
Ethereum developers also highlight that in addition to optimizing the use of block space, Blobs will also allow the execution layer to focus on other parallelization efforts, thereby making the network more efficient.
A solution to scalability problems
Let us remember that Ethereum is currently capable of processing about 15 transactions per second (TPS). A number that leaves the chain far below many of its main competitors, such as Solana, Cardano or Polkadot. Likewise, the network's poor transaction performance has affected gas fees, raising transaction fees to levels that have become prohibitive for many users of the chain.
Due to these issues, developers have been working on new solutions that will improve the network's scalability and performance, without sacrificing security and decentralization. EIP-4844 is one such solution, which will help the network increase its transaction processing capacity and significantly reduce gas fees, in a way that is compatible with chain sharding.
So far, rollups, implemented by Layer2 solutions such as Arbitrum and Optimism, have been the only viable scalability alternative for Ethereum, allowing gas fees to be significantly reduced on-chain. However, according to the Ethereum core team, these solutions are still complex to use and expensive for many users, so the need to create a solution that drives true network scalability remains present.
With EIP-4844, and the improvements that this update integrates, developers seek to overcome the obstacles of high gas fees and ensure that Ethereum remains competitive within the crypto ecosystem, being able to manage the capacity of a global transaction network.
What is Proto-Danksharding?
EIP-4844 introduces an innovative mechanism called Proto-Danksharding, which allows for the creation of fixed-size data blobs that are available for a defined time sufficient for users or protocols requiring that data to back it up or integrate it into their applications and protocols.
Ethereum developers They specified that The goal with proto-danksharding is not to store data on-chain forever. EIP-4844 is therefore a temporary solution, as it implements the transaction format that will be used in the final sharding specification. Thus, the data of this transaction format will be part of the Beacon Chain and can be downloaded in full by all consensus nodes, and then deleted, once its lifetime/use time expires. At this point, new blobs will be created with the updated data to keep this system running.
In this way, by using these blobs, Ethereum seeks to dramatically increase the number of transactions it can manage simultaneously, which translates into lower gas fees and a faster, more efficient and accessible platform, for both users and developers.
Proto-danksharding is an implementation that paves Ethereum's way towards sharding, but does not yet integrate this scalability technique on-chain.
According to Ethereum developers, proto-danksharding will be rolled out to the mainnet through the implementation of EIP-4844 in the Dencun upgrade in mid-March.
The impact of EIP-4844 on Ethereum scalability
The arrival of proto-danksharding, and subsequently sharding, will have a fairly significant impact on the scalability of the Ethereum blockchain, allowing for chain splitting and thus reduced processing load, to improve transaction confirmation speed, reduce congestion, and mitigate high gas fees.
In addition to reducing gas fees and improving efficiency, EIP-4844 also addresses other scalability-related issues. For example, the upgrade will enable greater parallelization in transaction processing and reduce network latency.
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