To optimize the Ethereum blockchain for a “rollup-centric roadmap,” Vitalik Buterin suggests new approaches to scale up the second-largest crypto network. The network’s co-founder suggested five options to limit the maximum block size and increase the gas limit.
Optimizing Ethereum’s Block Space
In a recent blog post, Vitalik Buterin and Toni Wahrstatter of the Ethereum Foundation discuss different ways to increase the block size on the Ethereum network. With their strategies focusing on rollups, the duo says that the current use of block space is not optimized, which is evident from the fact that the adequate block size has doubled over the past year.
Buterin and Wahrstatter believe that this growth is due to more people using Ethereum for DAapps, as evidenced by the rise of trends like Inscriptions and different rollups. According to them, these methods aim to enable the network to handle bigger chunks of data in the future by reducing the amount of variation and increasing the largest block size.
Controlling Block Sizes
In the Ethereum ecosystem, the gas limit is the most gas that can be used to execute transactions or smart contracts in a single block. This limit is essential for keeping the network running smoothly and stopping blocks from getting too big.
Since calldata uses gas and makes the network busier, the development team is trying to raise the gas cap without risking the network’s security. However, Buterin and Wahrstatter suggest changing the cost of call data by increasing it from 16 to 42 gas.
If this change is made, the maximum block size will drop from 1.78 megabytes to 0.68 megabytes, making room to raise the block gas cap. Buterin explained that this method should discourage users from utilizing calldata except when it’s essential to have access to data.
He added that this could affect programs like StarkNet that depend on large amounts of calldata for on-chain proofs. An alternative solution proposed by the duo includes raising the cost of calldata while lowering the cost of other operational codes (opcodes).
Calldata is the data used to call functions in smart contracts, while opcodes are the orders that run the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Other Propositions
Limiting the number of call data per block, as explained in Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-4488, is a possible answer. However, this method could reduce the use of calldata for data availability, which would be bad for apps that depend on it.
Another suggestion involves setting up a separate calldata fee market that works like the system for handling data blobs. In theory, this could be a way to raise gas limits, with the cost of using calldata changing based on demand. However, the trade-off is that analysis and applications are now much more complicated.
The third idea is to give apps that use much calldata an “EVM loyalty bonus” as a reward. Meanwhile, the EIP-4844 Dencun update will bring about data blobs, which are large data packets built into Ethereum’s blockchain to make handling and storing data easier.
Linking DNS with .eth Domain Extensions
Prominent web service solutions provider GoDaddy Inc. recently collaborated with the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) to connect regular domain names with .eth blockchain names. The agreement aims to ease the use of blockchain technology and the Domain Name System (DNS).
More than 20 million GoDaddy users can now benefit from ENS without paying extra or learning how to use technology. GoDaddy’s president, Paul Nicks, called the partnership a free way for many to learn about the benefits of blockchain.
Using ENS To Bridge Web2 And Web3 Ecosystems
ENS naming platform for cryptocurrencies changes how users interact with digital assets by replacing complicated Ethereum addresses with names that are easier for humans to understand. This is similar to how DNS shortens IP addresses into human-readable domain names.
Furthermore, this partnership eliminates problems like complicated technology issues hindering domain names from connecting to the Ethereum blockchain. Meanwhile, Nick Johnson, ENS founder, opines that the collaboration will bring out the best features of legacy and blockchain technologies.