The Dencun upgrade has officially launched on the Ethereum mainnet, marking a highly anticipated milestone hailed as the most significant change to the network’s code in over a year. This hard fork introduces cheaper fees for Layer-2 networks by implementing upgrades to Ethereum’s consensus and execution layers simultaneously.
Accompanying the Dencun launch is the activation of a new Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) named “proto-danksharding.” This proposal aims to enhance the network’s capability to process data from auxiliary networks.
Aspects of the Dencun package have been in development for several years, initially slated for release towards the end of 2023 but delayed due to engineering concerns. Ethereum developers rigorously tested the upgrade on test networks, with the majority of tests proceeding smoothly.
Any issues, like the initial glitch on Georli, were promptly resolved with software patches.
The rollout of Dencun particularly benefits Layer-2 networks such as Polygon, Optimism, and Arbitrum. Post-upgrade, these blockchains no longer need to fit their transaction data into conventional transactions; instead, they can allocate data to dedicated slots on the Ethereum blockchain known as blobs.
This streamlined process theoretically enables more efficient settlement of larger data amounts, ultimately reducing network fees.
The implementation of the Dencun upgrade coincides with heightened anticipation in the crypto community surrounding the potential approval of spot Ethereum ETFs in the US. The launch follows the successful trading debut of multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 11, adding to the excitement within the industry.
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