Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin often discusses technologies related to blob expansion and future development directions. He emphasized that by introducing blobs (proto-danksharding in EIP-4844), Ethereum's scalability has shifted from a 'zero to one' problem to a 'one to many' problem. Currently, the number of blobs per block has reached 3.
Note: Blobs are a solution introduced by Ethereum to improve transaction expansion capabilities, processing large amounts of temporary data at low cost, supporting the efficient operation of Layer 2 networks and reducing transaction fees.
Vitalik: Priority should be given to expanding Blobs.
Just last night, Vitalik pointed out that there is indeed a need to better determine priorities in Ethereum's core development. He gave an example:
If I had to choose between (i) increasing the blob target from 3 to 6 and (ii) all other improvements in the Pectra upgrade, I would prioritize the former (i).
He then asked, what should be prioritized in the two upgrades, Fusaka (Fulu-Osaka, the next major upgrade after Pectra) and G*? He stated:
Undoubtedly, the main answer remains the expansion of blobs. However, I also believe that improvements to Ethereum's L1 EVM are important, particularly EIP-7701 which aims to achieve native account abstraction (AA) through the EVM object format (EOF), along with SIMD+EVMMAX optimizations and a moderate increase in gas limits.
Vitalik also mentioned that development on PeerDAS (for blob expansion) is currently underway and suggested exploring more ambitious versions.
Main Contents of the Pectra Upgrade
The Pectra upgrade is the next major upgrade for Ethereum following the Dencun upgrade, expected to launch in the first quarter of this year, and will be split into two phases to reduce the complexity of large-scale upgrades and minimize the risk of errors or vulnerabilities.
The following are the main contents of the Pectra upgrade:
Account Abstraction: Simplifying user interaction with the Ethereum network through EIP-3074, EIP-7702, or EIP-7701, enhancing the flexibility and security of wallet operations.
Staking Improvements: EIP-7251 increases the maximum staking amount for validators from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH, reducing the number of validators, lowering network burden, while shortening staking queue times and enhancing Ethereum's execution speed.
Scalability Enhancements: Introducing peer data availability sampling (PeerDAS) from EIP-7594, expanding blob capacity, reducing transaction costs on Layer 2, and improving overall network scalability.
EVM Improvements: Implementing multiple EIPs to optimize the performance of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), reducing the development and execution costs of smart contracts, and enhancing efficiency.
Experts are optimistic that the Pectra upgrade will boost Ethereum.
In summary, the Pectra upgrade is expected to significantly enhance the performance and user experience of the Ethereum network. Some experts believe this upgrade may attract more users and developers into the Ethereum ecosystem, increasing the demand for ETH and thus having a positive impact on its price.
Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex, stated that the enhancements in user experience brought by Ethereum improvement proposals and network upgrades will become a key turning point for the future price trends of Ethereum and ETH.
By 2025, I believe account abstraction technology will advance further, with significant improvements in L2 interoperability, and a great enhancement in user experience between L2s.
Additionally, renowned DeFi analyst Ignas pointed out that Pectra is a technical upgrade, but he believes the market has underestimated its significance, implying that this upgrade could significantly enhance Ethereum's overall competitiveness.
