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Vitalik Buterin and the ethereum Foundation are exploring five strategies to decrease ethereum's maximum block size, with the goal of optimizing the blockchain for a “digest-centric roadmap.”
ethereum, the second-largest blockchain network, is exploring strategies to optimize its block size amid a shift toward an accumulation-centric approach, with the goal of more efficient data handling.
On February 5, ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and ethereum Foundation researcher Toni Wahrstätter highlighted the urgent need for optimization as the effective block size has nearly doubled over the past year.
This expansion is attributed to the growing adoption of accruals and trends such as enrollments, which demand greater data availability on ethereum, according to Buterin and Wahrstätter.
The duo has proposed at least five strategies to address this problem, each of them of different complexity. These include adjusting block gas limits and call data usage to potentially reduce the maximum block size.
ethereum's gas limit is a crucial parameter that controls the total amount of computational work that can be included in a block, ensuring that network performance remains stable. Calldata, an essential component for running smart contract functions, plays an important role in how much data each block can carry.
A simple proposal involves increasing the gas cost for call data, going from 16 to 42 gas per byte. This change would significantly reduce the maximum block size, thus creating room for future data expansion.
However, Buterin has expressed concern that such a move could discourage the use of call data for data availability, negatively impacting applications like StarkNet that rely on large amounts of call data for on-chain testing.
To counter this, an alternative solution suggests modifying the gas pricing model, including reducing costs for certain operations while increasing call data costs. This approach aims to maintain network efficiency without unduly penalizing applications that rely on call data.
The concept of a call data rate market, which reflects the management of data blobs, was also considered. This would allow the cost of call data to adjust based on demand, although it introduces greater implementation complexity.
Additionally, the idea of limiting call data per block and introducing an “EVM loyalty bonus” for applications with a lot of call data was discussed.
Buterin and Wahrstätter have warned that simply increasing the cost of calling data could be too harsh and potentially stifle innovation and application development on the ethereum network. They advocate for a more nuanced approach that balances the need for efficiency with ecosystem growth and diversity.
Buterin previously suggested measures to manage call data usage and costs, including a proposal in 2021 to limit call data per block to reduce gas costs.
More recently, in January, he proposed a 33% increase in ethereum's gas limit to improve network performance. The suggestion aims to allow more transactions per block, improving the overall capacity of the network. However, concerns have been raised regarding the potential impact on the size of the blockchain state and the increased load on hardware, highlighting the ongoing debate within the ethereum community.
ethereum's development roadmap for 2024 includes a series of upgrades known as Merge, Surge, Scourge, Verge, Purge, and Splurge. These upgrades are part of ethereum's long-term strategy to improve the efficiency, security, and scalability of the network.
As blockchain continues to evolve, these discussions and proposals reflect the collaborative effort to address the challenges of growing network demand and usage.
