Proto-Danksharding
An Ethereum upgrade (EIP-4844) that introduces blob-carrying transactions to reduce rollup data costs, serving as a stepping stone to full danksharding.
Proto-danksharding is Ethereum’s EIP-4844 upgrade introducing blob-carrying transactions. Blobs provide cheaper data availability for rollups compared to calldata. This reduces L2 costs significantly. Proto-danksharding is a stepping stone to full danksharding, which will further scale Ethereum by providing dedicated data availability capacity. Proto-danksharding launched with the Dencun upgrade (2024). Understanding proto-danksharding is essential for scaling economics and rollup design.
How Proto-Danksharding Works
Core mechanics:
Blob Transactions: New transaction type carrying data blobs.
Separate Fee Market: Blob fees separate from regular gas fees.
Temporary Storage: Blobs stored temporarily (not permanently in state).
DA for Rollups: Rollups post data in blobs instead of calldata.
Proto-danksharding reduces DA costs.
Benefits for Rollups
Impact:
Lower Fees: Blob data cheaper, lowering L2 fees.
Higher Throughput: More data capacity for rollups.
Scalability: Rollups can scale without saturating L1.
Proto-danksharding directly benefits L2 ecosystems.
EIP-4844 Overview
Key features:
New Blob Space: Separate data space for rollups.
KZG Commitments: Cryptographic commitments to blob data.
Blob Fee Market: Independent fee market for blob data.
EIP-4844 is core to proto-danksharding.
Tradeoffs
Considerations:
Temporary Data: Blob data pruned after set period.
Node Requirements: Nodes must handle blob data temporarily.
Complexity: Adds new transaction type and fee market.
Proto-danksharding adds complexity but large scaling benefits.
Career Opportunities
Scaling roles:
Protocol Engineers earn $130,000-$320,000+.
Rollup Engineers earn $130,000-$320,000+.
Research Engineers earn $140,000-$340,000+.
Best Practices
Building with blobs:
Track Blob Fees: Monitor blob fee market.
Optimize Data: Compress rollup data for blob efficiency.
Handle Pruning: Design rollups assuming blob data is temporary.
The Future of Danksharding
Trends:
Full Danksharding: More blob capacity and sampling.
DA Sampling: DAS will become key for scalability.
More Rollups: Rollup adoption accelerates with cheaper DA.
Cheap Data Availability for Rollups
Proto-danksharding is a major Ethereum scaling milestone enabling cheaper rollup data. Understanding it is crucial for L2 economics. If you’re interested in scaling, explore scaling careers at rollup teams.
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