Ethereum blob count is ‘uncomfortably close to a ceiling’ — Vitalik Buterin

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is urging to summation Ethereum’s “blob count” — introduced during its Dencun upgrade — to standard nan web further and alteration layer-2 protocols to summation capacity. 

In a chat thread pursuing its latest developer call, Buterin revealed that blob abstraction is presently astir 75% full, and changes request to beryllium implemented via EIP-7623 to summation nan blob count, stating: 

“I deliberation nan ecosystem is sleeping connected nan truth that it’s uncomfortably adjacent to a ceiling.” 

Blob abstraction refers to a specialized information retention area introduced by EIP-4844, besides known arsenic proto-danksharding, designed to amended nan scalability of nan network. 

This abstraction is designed specifically for storing ample amounts of information temporarily, chiefly to use layer-2 rollups.

The blob count is nan number of blobs that tin beryllium included successful each Ethereum block. 

The existent target is 3 blobs per artifact pinch a maximum of 6, and Buterin has now advocated expanding this to a target of 4 pinch a maximum of 8 blobs per artifact to let much information to beryllium stored per block, which could perchance amended nan capacity for L2 networks to station their information connected Ethereum.

Vitalik connected expanding blob count. Source: GitHub

EIP-7623 proposes an summation successful calldata costs for transactions chiefly utilizing Ethereum for data availability (DA). This would trim nan maximum artifact size from 2.7MB to astir 1MB and make room for perchance expanding nan artifact state limit aliases nan number of blobs. 

Vitalik expressed interest that immoderate L2s are hesitant to move to blobs owed to imaginable marketplace congestion, informing “We cannot spend to fto momentum gaffe connected moving much furniture 2s complete to utilizing blobs,” earlier adding:  

“EIP-7623 is important for this because it ensures that nan worst-case size of a artifact massively decreases.” 

Vitalik views layer-2 networks arsenic basal components for Ethereum scaling but he besides emphasized that they must beryllium decentralized, precocious stating that he only plans to admit scaling solutions astatine “stage 1” of his decentralization scale.

Related: Ethereum developers see splitting Pectra upgrade, oculus February target 

In a station connected X connected Sept. 26, Coinbase L2 Base creator Jesse Pollak said he powerfully supports Vitalik’s connection to summation blob count, adding that it “reduces worst-case artifact size and adds needed capacity for fast-growing L2s,” earlier exclaiming that “the maturation is exponential.” 

The highly anticipated Prague upgrade will attraction connected changes to nan network’s execution layer, pinch nan Electra upgrade impacting nan statement layer, hence nan sanction Pectra (Prague Electra). It includes a number of EIPs that will amended scalability, present account abstraction, and summation validator staking limits. 

Ethereum developers projected splitting nan Pectra upgrade into 2 segments PectraA and PectraB to accelerate its deployment. 

Magazine: Proposed alteration could prevention Ethereum from L2 ‘roadmap to hell’