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ethereum (eth) developers have outlined a comprehensive plan for the network's development in 2024, including significant updates and new proposals after its latest execution layer meeting December 8th.
A key focus is on the deprecation of the Goerli testnet, with a fork scheduled for early 2024. This move is part of the strategy to activate 'Dencun' on the ethereum network in January, marking a significant advance in its technological capabilities.
Dencun Activation
He ethereum-cancun-deneb-dencun-upgrade/#:~:text=The%20Cancun%2DDeneb%20(Dencun),scalability%2C%20security%2C%20and%20usability.”>Dencun update will introduce a novel concept in transaction processing called “bearer blob transactions.” In this context, 'blobs' is an acronym for 'Binary Large Objects'. The primary goal of these blobs is to refine the way ethereum stores and retrieves data by reducing the amount of data that must be stored indefinitely on the ethereum blockchain.
Consequently, transaction costs associated with data storage are expected to decrease, making overall transactions cheaper. It is a critical step toward the long-term goal of danksharding, a planned scaling solution that divides the network into smaller parallel segments (shards) to increase capacity and efficiency.
Another notable development is the introduction of a new proposal aimed at improving the power of Execution Layer (EL) clients. The proposal, designed to counter potential censorship in the mempool, would allow EL clients to override local constructors using various heuristics.
For example, customers might void them when they detect transactions with excessively high fees pending for long periods of time. However, the adoption of such heuristics has not yet been widely implemented, and currently only Geth has an open pull request on the topic.
In terms of process updates, the development of a Meta ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) for Dencun has been a major milestone. This is complemented by a draft for a “Meta EIP replenishment”, which aims to provide specifications for updates that previously lacked Meta EIP.
The discussion around Meta EIPs has been vital in simplifying access to fork specifications, although there is an ongoing conversation about their role and naming conventions, according to eth developer Tim Beiko.
Prague/Electra Update
Looking ahead, the ethereum community is preparing for the Prague/Electra network upgrade. Among the proposals for this update is EIP-6110, which proposes a new method of supplying validator deposits on-chain, replacing the old Eth1 bridge system.
Future updates may also include Verkle Tries at the execution layer and Data Availability Sampling (DAS) at the consensus layer, which will require in-depth technical discussions and reviews.
The ethereum community is encouraged to take an active role in shaping the future of the network by participating in these technical discussions and expressing their preferences on potential features in upcoming updates via forums and GitHub threads.
Client teams are set to review these proposals, with more detailed discussions planned for January. This planning is part of the broader strategic development of the ethereum network, reflecting the developer community's ongoing efforts to evolve and refine the platform.
The ethereum developer community remains actively engaged in improving the network's capabilities, with a clear roadmap set for 2024. Upcoming developments and proposals highlight the network's continued commitment to innovation and responsiveness to community comments.
