Ethereum’s Dencun Upgrade Now Active, Anticipates Reduced Network Fees
Ethereum’s core developers have successfully implemented the highly significant Dencun upgrade, signifying a crucial milestone in the network’s development. This upgrade, which came into effect at 10 a.m. ET, introduced EIP4844, also known as blobs, ushering in a new era of reduced fees within the network.
The eagerly anticipated Dencun upgrade is expected to significantly lower transaction fees for Layer 2 projects on Ethereum, including Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base. This will enable them to compete with low-fee platforms like the Solana network, which has become a popular alternative for users seeking relief from Ethereum’s high transaction costs.
Unlike the previous “call data” system, blobs employ a unique mechanism that ensures data accessibility without disrupting the existing network infrastructure, resulting in reduced transaction fees. While this feature is currently available in some Layer 2 solutions, it will take time for the entire network to fully integrate it.
Marius Van Der Wijden, an Ethereum core developer, expressed his belief that this upgrade will have the most significant impact on users compared to all previous Ethereum upgrades. He stated, “Dencun is a much more substantial update than Shanghai.”
The Shanghai upgrade, implemented last year, allowed users to access their staked Ethereum during the network’s Merge. It was one of several updates following Ethereum’s transition from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS).
Shortly after the Dencun upgrade, the Layer 2 network Blast experienced an outage, which the platform attributed to the Ethereum update. The outage began around 10.05 a.m. ET and lasted for over two hours. Blast later provided an update, stating that the issue had been resolved and that the network had updated its node repository to address the problem. The platform also advised developers running their own nodes to use “docker compose pull” to obtain the latest version.
Surprisingly, the price of Ethereum showed little reaction to the Dencun upgrade, remaining relatively stable after the update. ETH continues to struggle to surpass the $4,000 mark and is currently trading at $3,971.
Tags: Ethereum
