Dencun will be activated on the Ethereum mainnet today, March 13th, at 13:55 UTC.
The implementation of the Deneb-Cancun upgrade, also known as “Dencun”, will occur on the Ethereum network in the era 269568In a blog post updated by the Ethereum Foundation yesterday, the blockchain developers specified that Dencun will take place today, March 13, at 13:55 UTC (14:55 Madrid time).
Dencun is an upgrade that will implement several major changes to the consensus and execution layers of the Ethereum network. However, its most notable feature is the Ethereum Improvement Proposal EIP-4844 Deployment, also known as «proto-danksharding» and with it, the Introducing data blobs, a new type of transaction that will improve the scalability, efficiency and security of the network and its ecosystem in general.
To date, Ethereum development leaders have already implemented Dencun on all Ethereum testnets and are preparing for its deployment on the mainnet within a few hours.
In updated postThe Ethereum Foundation shared the minimum and recommended software versions that both node operators and ether stakers should upgrade to in preparation for the arrival of Dencun.
One of the most important updates to Ethereum
While Beacon Chain, The Merge, EIP-1559, and Shapella have undoubtedly been crucial upgrades for Ethereum, Dencun also plays an important role in securing the future of the network. This upgrade and EIP-4844 are part of the historic shift the chain is undergoing on its way to becoming a highly scalable and efficient network.
With the introduction of the proposed changes to Dencun, Ethereum will not only serve users on the chain, but they are also focusing on optimizing development for other blockchains, highlighted Max Wadington, research analyst at Fidelity Digital Assets, in the report “Deneb-Cancun Upgrade”, published earlier this month.
Dencun's impact on L2 chain transactions
Data blobs that will be introduced to Ethereum with the new upgrade will allow Layer2 chains to store substantial amounts of data temporarily, improving the capabilities of these networks and reducing their commission fees. In the report, Wadington also noted that:
“This upgrade has massive implications for Ethereum investors; creating the foundation to support transaction throughput orders of magnitude greater than Ethereum’s current capabilities.”
By allowing L2 chains to store a larger amount of data, with lower fees, Dencun will help make the Ethereum L2 ecosystem becomes more profitable, without sacrificing security and decentralization.
Fostering organic growth of the L2 ecosystem
Overall, Wadington believes that the successful implementation of Dencun on the Ethereum mainnet will also help fostering organic growth of L2 users, mainly because “the most common transactions on Ethereum today could take place there for pennies on the dollar.”
Ethereum's L2 ecosystem transaction fees, which account for 10% of all Transaction fees processed on the main blockchain (L1) could be reduced by up to 90% with the arrival of Dencun, so the number of users of these L2 chains could grow significantly after the new update is implemented. This, in turn, could allow Increase gas availability on the Ethereum mainnet to be used in other activities on the blockchain, the expert said.
However, despite the expected positive impact on the L2 ecosystem, Wadington clarified that Dencun might not have much of a direct effect on Ethereum users themselves. That is, in the short term, mainnet users will not be able to see the promised fee reduction on L2 networks, he said.
In addition to the impact on L2 throughput and gas fees, Dencun's arrival is also driving up the price of Ethereum, which hit two-year highs, surpassing $4.000 dollars per unit, at the time of going to press.
The next updates that await Ethereum
Dencun is one of the biggest Ethereum upgrades in the past 2 years. However, despite its importance, the network still has a long way to go to become a a truly scalable and accessible chain for its global users.
According to Roadmap For Ethereum, the next updates coming to the mainnet in the future are The Surge, The Scourge, The Verge, The Purge, and The Splurge, which will generally lead Ethereum to a more secure, faster, and accessible network for users and developers.
Continue reading: EIP-4844: The new update for Ethereum scalability
