Leverage Dencun for Faster & Cheaper Ethereum Transactions with Crypto APIs

The eagerly anticipated Dencun upgrade, announced by Ethereum developers, is scheduled for completion and production in March 2024. Already deployed successfully on all three Ethereum's test networks, it now enters its final phase before its mainnet launch.

What problems does the Dencun upgrade address?

Dencun aims to tackle the persistent problem of high gas fees on transactions within the Ethereum ecosystem, including layer-2 networks, while also addressing transaction speed issues. This upgrade will introduce some of the most significant changes to the Ethereum blockchain since April 2023.

Observing the Dencun roll-out

A series of trials ensuring the stability of Dencun were conducted across all three testnet networks of Ethereum. Each of these trials marked a significant milestone preceding the full integration scheduled for March.

The Goerli testnet integration was successfully completed on January 17, 2024, followed by the Sepolia testnet on January 31. The final testnet integration took place on the Holesky testnet on February 7. The ultimate phase is currently scheduled for March 13, 2024, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Throughout the testnet trials, the proto-danksharding technical feature, also referred to as proposition EIP-4844, was one of the proposals that were key for the upgrade. The primary objective was to lower transaction costs for rollups and decrease data availability expenses through this proposal. This was achieved by introducing blobs, serving as segmented storage spaces for data. Blobs are anticipated to bring considerable advantages to Ethereum's Layer two blockchains by enabling more transactions to be processed within the network's blocks, consequently reducing Layer two fees.

Blobs are not the typical Ethereum transactions, because of several distinctive elements. The first is that the size of blobs is limited to just 128kb which is significantly less smaller than those of Ethereum. The less space is taken into a block, the less fees will be paid.  

The second characteristic of blobs is their off-chain nature, enabling synchronization with the Ethereum blockchain through embedded reference codes. 

Thirdly, a novel transaction type called Blob-carrying is introduced, specifically designed for adding data to blocks. Each Blob-carrying transaction is inherently linked to a blob, facilitating off-chain verification and synchronization with the Ethereum blockchain.

Blob transaction fees

Since blobs allow data storage outside of blockchains which can be added afterwards to the Ethereum blockchain, an additional alternative is created for further slashing fees on the Ethereum blockchain. Layer 2 infrastructures are expected to utilize Blob transactions as well. 

In blob transactions, prioritization for data inclusion into blocks is allowed. This means higher control on network fees based on the highest/lowest priorities of the transactions. 

Dencun impact on Crypto APIs services

All changes that are set to happen and will affect the Ethereum and Layer 2 blockchains will be supported in Crypto APIs blockchain infrastructure suite, regardless if we speak about a particular service or our entire infrastructure suite. 

Our services have been optimized to guarantee access to all upgrades, regardless of whether they are related to Ethereum, Layer-2 solutions, or any other blockchain networks. What this means exactly - read the subsection below and find out!

Why should you use a blockchain infrastructure provider?

The reasons why you should use Crypto APIs instead of trying to obtain data or perform different chain-related operations on your own are numerous. First of all, infrastructure providers are granting you access to blockchain RPC nodes which are costly for hosting and managing if you were to do this on your own. Through our shared and dedicated Ethereum nodes for example, we are ensuring that our clients always get access to the latest blockchain upgrades and all available network features are also readily available.

Since the Dencun upgrade is concerned with transaction fees and transaction speed, apart from the nodes service, the biggest impact of the upgrade will be notable in our Blockchain Data service. Our APIs provide access to perfectly synced and indexed database with very quick response, allowing fees estimations and fees recommendations data to be obtained. 

In Blockchain Events you will be notified in real time as soon as an event has been completed, which considering the Dencun capabilities should take less-time for completion. And if you require tracking any specific data both in real time or if it needs to provide data from the past (historical data), you can rely on our Blockchain Data which can shine light starting from the Ethereum genesis block up to the current moment.