The Ethereum ecosystem has seen incredible growth and development in recent years, but one of the lingering challenges has been the high cost of rollups. However, there is hope on the horizon with the emergence of proto-danksharding. In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph Magazine, Nicolas Liochon, the head of zkEVM Linea at Consensys, shared insights into how proto-danksharding could significantly reduce rollup costs. This article delves into the revolutionary impact of this proposed solution on Ethereum rollups and its potential to transform the scalability of the Ethereum blockchain.
Rollups have been a key scaling solution for Ethereum, allowing for the batching of transactions and data off-chain while submitting computational proofs to the blockchain. However, despite their potential, rollups still face limitations in terms of cost and efficiency. The high cost is primarily attributed to the fact that all Ethereum nodes process and store call data on-chain indefinitely, even though it only needs to be available for a short period of time. This inefficiency has hindered the widespread adoption of rollups as the go-to scaling solution.
Proto-danksharding, also known as EIP-4844, aims to address the cost and efficiency issues of rollups. By introducing data blocks that can be sent and attached to blocks, this solution ensures that the stored data is not accessible to the Ethereum Virtual Machine and will be deleted after a certain time period. This breakthrough feature is expected to substantially reduce transaction costs, making rollups an even more viable scaling solution.
According to Liochon, proto-danksharding has the potential to decrease rollup costs by a staggering 10 times, building on the existing cost reduction achieved by Linea. Linea, the product developed by Consensys, already offers 15 times cheaper transactions compared to Ethereum’s layer 1. However, the major cost driver lies in data availability, which represents a staggering 95% of the total cost. The introduction of proto-danksharding will effectively address this issue, making rollups significantly more affordable for users.
Proto-danksharding holds immense promise for the Ethereum ecosystem. Liochon envisions Linea as a general-purpose ZK-rollup, catering to a wide array of decentralized applications and solutions within the Ethereum ecosystem. This inclusivity is crucial in supporting various sectors such as DeFi, gaming, and social applications. By providing a cost-effective and efficient solution, proto-danksharding has the potential to revolutionize the scalability of Ethereum and enhance the overall user experience.
Although the Ethereum Foundation has yet to announce a specific launch date for proto-danksharding, significant progress has been made in the development and testing of this groundbreaking solution. Ongoing efforts and collaborations aim to refine and optimize this technology, bringing it closer to implementation. The Ethereum community eagerly awaits this critical milestone, which could ultimately propel Ethereum to new heights.
The introduction of proto-danksharding offers a glimmer of hope for addressing the cost and efficiency challenges of Ethereum rollups. With the potential to reduce transaction costs by 10 times, this solution paves the way for greater scalability and accessibility within the Ethereum ecosystem. As the Ethereum community eagerly anticipates the launch of proto-danksharding, it is clear that this innovation has the power to revolutionize the blockchain industry and solidify Ethereum’s position as a leading platform for decentralized applications.
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