EIP-4844, known as proto-danksharding, integrates a new transaction type capable of carrying “blobs” of data, significantly reducing the cost for Layer 2 rollups to post transaction data to the Ethereum mainnet. This architectural enhancement establishes a dedicated, temporary data availability layer within the beacon chain, offloading data burden from the execution layer. The development directly enables Layer 2 transaction fees to decrease by orders of magnitude, often to less than $0.01 per transaction.
Prior to this development, Layer 2 rollups relied on Ethereum’s mainnet calldata for transaction data storage, a mechanism designed for permanent data persistence. This approach incurred high gas fees, limiting the economic viability and scalability of rollup-based applications. The prevailing engineering challenge centered on providing cost-effective, high-throughput data availability for rollups without permanently burdening the mainnet’s state storage.
EIP-4844 alters the protocol’s data availability and transaction processing by introducing a distinct data space for blobs that is separate from the EVM’s execution environment. Blobs are opaque byte strings, approximately 125 KB in size, attached to transactions and stored temporarily on beacon nodes for about 18 days. The Ethereum Virtual Machine only processes a cryptographic commitment to the blob, specifically a KZG commitment hash, rather than the raw data itself.
This design optimizes data throughput for rollups, as the data is available for a sufficient period for Layer 2s to process, yet it is pruned from the beacon node to prevent indefinite storage expansion. This mechanism ensures that Layer 2 solutions can scale by leveraging a cheaper, dedicated data channel, fundamentally enhancing Ethereum’s modular architecture by separating execution from data availability.
- EIP Number ∞ EIP-4844
- Transaction Type ∞ Blob-carrying transactions
- Blob Size ∞ Approximately 125 KB per blob (4096 field elements of 32 bytes)
- Blobs Per Block (Maximum) ∞ 16 blobs, equating to 2 MiB per block
- Data Retention ∞ Blobs pruned after ~18 days (~4096 epochs)
- Fee Reduction ∞ Layer 2 transaction fees reduced to under $0.01
The implementation of proto-danksharding lays the foundational framework for Ethereum’s long-term scaling roadmap, known as full danksharding. This upgrade significantly enhances the performance and economic viability of existing Layer 2 solutions, fostering their broader adoption and development. The new data availability layer unlocks capabilities for a wider array of dApps by reducing operational costs and improving user experience, accelerating the transition towards a modular blockchain ecosystem where Layer 2s handle the majority of transaction throughput.
EIP-4844 establishes a critical architectural primitive for Ethereum, transforming it into a more scalable and cost-efficient settlement layer for the global decentralized economy.
Signal Acquired from ∞ ethereum.org