Can the Ethereum Dencun Upgrade Really Save L2s? Understand the Power of EIP-4844 in One Article

The Ethereum Cancun Upgrade (Dencum) officially launched its test phase in January 2024, with its core innovation being EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding). This upgrade is highly anticipated as a potential solution to Ethereum’s high gas fee problem. But is it really that magical?

Core Mechanism: What is “blob” data?

Proto-Danksharding introduces a new data type called “blob.” Simply put: L2 transactions are no longer written directly to Ethereum’s mainnet permanent storage but are instead temporarily stored on the Beacon Chain, remaining there for about 18 days before being automatically deleted.

What are the benefits?

• Significantly reduced storage costs: L2 gas fees may decrease by 10-100x
• Improved data throughput: Each block has a fixed 1MB blob bandwidth, far more efficient than the previous calldata method
• Reduced network pressure: The L1 mainnet doesn’t need to permanently store L2 historical data

Upgrade Timeline Confirmed

Official test schedule:

• Goerli testnet: January 17
• Sepolia testnet: January 30
• Holesky testnet: February 7

Currently, Proto-Danksharding has been tested and validated on Devnet 12.

Other Simultaneous Optimization Proposals

The Dencum upgrade isn’t just EIP-4844; it also includes:

EIP-1153: Transient storage operations, allowing use of temporary variables during contract execution to further reduce gas

EIP-4788: Direct access to Beacon Chain data, enhancing L1 and L2 interaction

EIP-5656: Memory copy optimization, speeding up contract execution

EIP-6780: Restricts the SELFDESTRUCT function, enhancing network security

How Exaggerated Are the Expected Effects?

Theoretical data:

• TPS surge: From the current 15-20 TPS → up to 1000+ TPS (dependent on L2 optimizations)
• Gas fee reduction: L2 costs may drop from $0.10 to below $0.001
• Scalability improvement: 100-1000x increase compared to now

But keep in mind, realizing these numbers depends on whether L2 projects truly optimize their use of blob data.

Impact on Users and Developers

Regular users:

• L2 transaction fees drop significantly
• Faster transaction confirmations
• Lower costs to participate in DeFi, NFT, and other ecosystems

Developers:

• Building complex applications becomes much cheaper
• Can attempt creative products previously unfeasible due to gas costs
• The dApp ecosystem may see another boom

Stakers:

• The Dencum upgrade also strengthens ETH liquid staking mechanisms, allowing stakers to gain both liquidity and yields

This Is Not the Endgame

Proto-Danksharding is only a transitional solution; true Full Danksharding is still ahead. The full version will shard the Ethereum network into multiple independently processed shards, further boosting scalability.

From the launch of the Beacon Chain in 2020 → the Merge in 2022 → the Shanghai upgrade in 2023 (unlocking staked withdrawals) → now Dencum, the Ethereum 2.0 roadmap is being realized step by step.

But Don’t Ignore the Risks

• Technical complexity: Major upgrades always carry potential vulnerabilities
• Ecosystem compatibility: Some legacy contracts may need adjustments
• Transition period risks: Short-term instability may occur during the upgrade

Summary

The Dencum upgrade is a crucial step for Ethereum in solving the gas fee bottleneck, with EIP-4844’s blob data mechanism being a clever approach. However, the real impact will depend on how well the L2 ecosystem optimizes and when full Danksharding arrives. For investors and developers, this upgrade is indeed a new opportunity to participate in the Ethereum ecosystem.