After the launch of the Shanghai Upgrade, Ethereum (ETH) developers have started planning on what is next for the Ethereum blockchain. On Thursday, the Ethereum developers held a meeting to discuss what will be the next ship of the Ethereum network.
On Thursday’s bi-weekly all-core devs call, the consensus was reached to prioritize the Cancun-Deneb upgrade, affectionately known as “Dencun.” This upgrade is crucial to the success of Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap and will focus on implementing the proto-dank sharding feature, which is described in Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844.
The implementation of proto-dank sharding is set to revolutionize Ethereum’s transaction processing capabilities by introducing a new transaction type known as the “blob-carrying transaction.” This transaction type will serve as a temporary data storage mechanism, enabling layer-2 rollups to reduce user transaction costs by orders of magnitude significantly.
By providing a more efficient way to store and process data, the blob-carrying transaction will help to increase the speed and scalability of the Ethereum network. This is a breakthrough in developing the network’s infrastructure, enabling Ethereum to handle more transactions without sacrificing performance or security.
Péter Szilágyi, the team lead, believed that upgrade 4844 should be the primary focus, with everything else being secondary. He had previously voiced this view in January but was not given priority at the time.
However, now it seems likely that his wish will be granted as there was unanimous agreement that the Cancun execution layer upgrade would place proto-dank sharding at the forefront.
This marks a significant shift in priorities from the previous emphasis on the withdrawal of staked ether in Shapella. Overall, Szilágyi’s stance is that 4844 should take precedence over other considerations, and it appears that the rest of the Ethereum foundation is now aligned with this perspective.
