On March 13th, according to data from OKLink, Ethereum officially implemented the Dencun upgrade at block height 269,568, entering the era of Layer2 low-cost transactions. After cost reduction and efficiency improvement, can Ethereum make a comeback as the king?
Content:
Toggle
Ethereum’s Progress Over the Years
Understanding the Cancun Upgrade
How to Explore Ethereum and L2 Ecosystem with OKX Web3 Wallet?
The Cancun Upgrade Injects Vitality into Ethereum and L2
Ethereum’s Progress Over the Years
Ethereum officially launched on July 30, 2015, ushering in a new era of smart contracts. With the prosperity of on-chain applications such as DeFi and NFT Summer, Ethereum has shone brightly. However, it has also faced challenges due to the low gas fees of high-performance public chains like Solana and the gravitational effect of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Despite Ethereum’s attempts to reverse the situation with the 2.0 version, the platform’s performance has been unsatisfactory in the short term due to the long and complex process of technological iteration. The high gas fees have become one of the key reasons for users to migrate.
The tremendous pressure on Ethereum’s congestion has directly driven the narrative of L2. Vitalik Buterin began to support various expansion solutions. In an article, he profoundly wrote, “Without the development of Layer2 and Rollup, Ethereum will fail due to high transaction costs.” Solving the “expensive and congested” performance problem has become the core theme of Ethereum’s current development. According to data from OKLink, the TVL of the L2 ecosystem has been consistently increasing, with a total TVL of $38.31 billion.
[Image]
[Image]
[Image]
[Image]
Mainstream L2 solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism share the security of Ethereum. Although the computation is moved off-chain, the data is processed and permanently stored on the Ethereum nodes, and these costs are ultimately transferred to the users. Therefore, L2 has alleviated Ethereum’s transaction pressure and reduced gas fees to some extent. However, compared to Web2 users who are accustomed to free usage, the role of L2 is limited.
The successful implementation of the Cancun upgrade officially opens the era of reduced fees for L2, injecting new vitality into the L2 ecosystem and Ethereum. According to data from OKLink on March 15th, after the Cancun upgrade, the transaction fees on L2 networks such as Starknet and OP have dropped by over 90%, and their active addresses and TPS have significantly improved. As a leading one-stop Web3 gateway, the OKX Web3 Wallet now fully supports Ethereum and the L2 ecosystem, providing an important foundation for users to explore the on-chain world.
[Image]
[Image]
Source: OKLink
Understanding the Cancun Upgrade
The Dencun upgrade is a combination of the Cancun execution client and the Deneb consensus client. The community commonly refers to the Dencun upgrade as the Cancun upgrade. Its core purpose is to optimize the user experience of Ethereum staking and achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement for L2. The Cancun upgrade includes a total of nine Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), including EIP-1153, EIP-4788, EIP-4844, EIP-5656, EIP-6780, EIP-7044, EIP-7045, EIP-7514, and EIP-7516. The most important one is EIP-4844, also known as Proto-Danksharding.
EIP-4844 is the foundation of the complete shard scaling solution Danksharding. It introduces a new data storage structure called Blob to Ethereum, which is exclusively used to store transaction data submitted by L2 to Ethereum. It no longer competes for storage space with Calldata, making user transaction fees cheaper and transaction experience more efficient.
In the context of Ethereum’s prosperity conflicting with high gas fees, the competition for limited block resources has made Ethereum inefficient, congested, and expensive, which has been criticized by the market. Previously, all L2 transactions on Ethereum were stored in Ethereum’s Calldata. However, Calldata space is limited, and the data stored in it is processed and permanently stored on the Ethereum chain by nodes. It is reported that 80% of the transaction costs and gas fees on L2 networks come from Calldata storage costs. Blob creates additional temporary data storage space on Ethereum, thereby significantly reducing L2 data storage costs and achieving higher transaction throughput.
According to OKLink data, mainstream L2 networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Starknet, and Base have integrated EIP-4844, resulting in a gas fee reduction of over 90%. More data can be viewed by clicking the link:
https://www.oklink.com/cn/eth/dencun-upgrade
However, it is worth noting that Blob’s data storage is temporary, with a lifespan of 4,096 epochs, or about 18 days. Ethereum needs to ensure real-time data availability rather than data retrievability. The value and significance of permanently storing transaction data are not high. Regularly clearing Blob data can save storage space and help Ethereum maintain its core competitiveness, maintaining or even capturing more market share in the public chain race.
However, the discarded part of the Blob data still has potential value in terms of preventing node misconduct, rug operations by public chain operators, and helping to establish escape hatch mechanisms or forced withdrawal mechanisms. For this reason, OKLink is responsible for securely storing all blob data to ensure the security and retrievability of historical data, supporting the healthy development of the Ethereum ecosystem, and providing services to individuals and public chain teams that have a demand for Blob data at any time.
In addition, EIP-4844 will introduce a new fee market for Blob, which is more conducive to maintaining better prices. The introduction of the Blob data storage structure will significantly reduce costs for Ethereum L2. For example, zkSync, the first L2 to use Blob, has reduced the cost of its Verifier by about 88%, and the actual gas fee for Starknet has dropped to as low as $0.01, and so on. However, the actual effect depends on various factors of L2 itself. It will also help accelerate L2 transactions by 10 or even 100 times. Apart from EIP-4844, this upgrade also includes EIP-1153, EIP-6780, and more. In short, the Cancun upgrade will encourage more trading activities and provide long-term support for L2 and the Ethereum ecosystem.
How to Explore Ethereum and L2 Ecosystem with OKX Web3 Wallet?
After the Cancun upgrade, users can conduct on-chain transactions with very low gas fees. As a leading one-stop Web3 gateway, OKX Web3 Wallet now fully supports Ethereum and the L2 ecosystem, providing an important foundation for users to explore the on-chain world.
Currently, OKX Web3 provides comprehensive support for Ethereum and Ethereum Layer2 ecosystems. It has been the first to integrate mainstream L2 networks such as Blast, Optimism, Arbitrum, Starknet, zkSync Era, and Manta Pacific. Users can switch to these networks for corresponding token management with just one click, without manual configuration.
To improve capital efficiency, users can interact with Ethereum’s re-staking protocols through the OKX DeFi section. The concept of “re-staking” was first proposed by Eigenlayer, allowing users to stake their ETH on the Ethereum mainnet again through Eigenlayer on other consensus protocols. This allows these protocols to share Ethereum’s security, and users can receive additional rewards. The “Re-Staking and Earning” campaign launched by OKX Web3 DeFi has now integrated multiple types of re-staking protocols, providing users with additional points or token rewards. By “Re-Staking ETH,” “Liquidity Staking,” or “Liquidity Re-Staking,” users can earn additional rewards.
For example, participating in Kelp can earn an additional 30% points reward, participating in Renzo can earn an additional 10% points reward and up to 20% interest reward, and so on.
Click the link to participate immediately: [Link]
Users can exchange and cross-chain Ethereum and L2 assets through OKX DEX, enjoying the best on-chain liquidity, optimal prices, and zero transaction service fees, and easily trading any asset. Currently, OKX DEX has supported multiple Ethereum Layer2 networks, such as Avalanche C, Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync Era, Polygon zkEVM, Linea, Base, Mantle, Starknet, Scroll, etc. OKX DEX is a powerful DEX and cross-chain aggregator, aggregating more than 20 cross-chains, 20 public chains, and over 400 DEXs. It also has functions such as DEX market data, limit orders, and KYT security checks. It has recently added an intention trading mode to help users enjoy gas-free trading experience.
To help users reduce the entry barrier to Web3 and reduce search costs, and to make use of fragmented time for precise interaction, Cryptopedia has launched interactive tasks related to L2 ecosystems such as zkSync Era. By aggregating and selecting high-quality DApps and setting interactive tasks, Cryptopedia helps users experience the smooth on-chain world while earning multiple rewards. For example, users can experience selected zkSync Era ecosystem DApps through OKX Cryptopedia to explore the L2 ecosystem better and earn rewards. OKX Cryptopedia is a one-stop DApp exploration and reward interaction platform that regularly launches activities with different blockchain networks as themes and sets DApp interactive tasks in collaboration with corresponding partners.
OKX Discover is the first to explore the Layer2 ecosystem and promptly supports the Ethereum Cancun upgrade, helping users participate in Ethereum and L2 ecosystems quickly and securely. In addition, to explore Ethereum and L2 ecosystems more extensively and discover and interact with popular DApps, users can use the OKX Discover section to discover and jump to popular DApps and explore the on-chain world more easily and conveniently. For example, OKX Discover has added multiple hot sections such as re-staking, Solana ecosystem, inscriptions, Bitcoin ecosystem, essential tools, and popular blockchain games, providing users with the latest and hottest on-chain dynamics.
In addition, users can view Layer2 network-related data anytime, anywhere through the OKX browser or the Dencun upgrade special page launched by OKLink, including the most intuitive data such as price, fee reduction status; developments caused by changes in fees and TPS; TVL, TVB, and active address numbers; and changes to Ethereum data brought about by the upgrade. In addition, they can also view Ethereum’s complete development history, upgrade reviews, and more.
OKX Web3 Wallet helps users explore the on-chain world easily, securely, and efficiently through its comprehensive support for Ethereum and the L2 ecosystem across various sections, making it an essential Web3 tool for users.
The Cancun Upgrade Injects Vitality into Ethereum and L2
Ethereum has paved a differentiated path from Bitcoin’s peer-to-peer electronic cash system. As the largest open-source platform globally, Ethereum introduced smart contracts to the blockchain world for the first time, leading the development direction of the crypto industry and laying the foundation for a decentralized future. Ethereum is not just creating a cryptocurrency but also a new financial infrastructure that provides a more free, secure, and open trading environment, driving innovation and progress in the entire industry.
As the L1 with the largest developer community, Ethereum’s legitimacy cannot be replaced. Despite its congestion and high fees, Ethereum will shoulder the enormous transaction pressure of the mainnet with the innovation of L2 and Rollup solutions, buying time and space for the arrival of Ethereum 2.0.
Throughout its iterative process, OKX Web3 Wallet, on the one hand, supports the construction of the Ethereum community by supporting Ethereum and L2 ecosystems, and on the other hand, connects users to bring massive liquidity to Ethereum and L2 ecosystems, becoming an important builder of the Ethereum and L2 ecosystems. With its strong technical expertise and continuous innovation, OKX Web3 Wallet provides state-of-the-art market tools, greatly reducing the entry barrier for users and helping them navigate the on-chain world in an all-in-one manner.
Although progress has been slow, Ethereum, this enormous creative machine, has never stopped. From the outskirts to homes, metropolises to tranquility, after multiple upgrades and numerous EIP proposals, each step brings it closer to its vision of becoming a scalable, decentralized, and globally accessible settlement layer. Additionally, as market attention shifts from Bitcoin spot ETFs to Ethereum spot ETFs, it will bring more attention and vitality to Ethereum.
OKX Web3
[Image]
[Image]
Further Reading
OKX Wallet | Industry’s First BRC-20 Wallet! OKX Web3 Multi-Chain Wallet Supports BRC-20 Transactions
OKX Web3 Wallet Introduces Zero Gas Transfer Function, First Transfer of the Day Has No Gas Fee.