What is Ethereum Cancun Upgrade?

The Ethereum Cancun upgrade, also referred to as the “Cancun-Deneb” upgrade, aims to strengthen Ethereum’s infrastructure and resolve outstanding issues following the Shanghai upgrade.

The Cancun upgrade will incorporate four Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs): EIP-4844, EIP-1153, EIP-4788, and EIP-6780. These EIPs will bring various advantages such as better scalability, improved data storage and availability, and lower transaction fees.

The Cancun upgrade is mainly aimed at improving Layer 1 to pave the way for full data sharding in Ethereum’s future plans.

Sharding involves dividing a blockchain database into smaller parts, known as shards, to improve efficiency. The Cancun upgrade introduces a unique form of sharding called proto-danksharding.

The objective of the Cancun upgrade is to boost the network’s transactions per second (TPS) in line with Ethereum’s roadmap’s “Surge” phase, with the goal of enhancing performance to over 100,000 TPS.

The Cancun upgrade – along with the subsequent Deneb upgrade – represents a significant milestone in Ethereum’s journey towards establishing itself as a leading decentralized finance platform.

Benefits of the Ethereum Cancun Upgrade

As mentioned earlier, the Ethereum Cancun upgrade offers several advantages. These include quicker transaction processing, lower transaction costs, improved data management, and better cross-chain communication. The upgrade plans to enhance network efficiency by introducing blob-carrying transactions, which will streamline data processing.

  • Better scalability
  • Reduced transaction costs
  • Optimized data management
  • Better cross-chain communication
  • Improved security

Risks of the Ethereum Cancun Upgrade

There are potential risks associated with the upgrade’s impact on existing smart contracts and the complexities of integrating new data storage methods. Thorough testing and careful consideration are necessary during the implementation phase to ensure a seamless transition for all parties involved.

Launch Date

It’s expected to be launched in the first half of 2024, although the exact date has not been confirmed yet. The Ethereum community is excited for this upgrade, which is anticipated to bring significant improvements to transaction handling and data management within the Ethereum ecosystem, following thorough testing and optimization of the network.

Conclusion

The Ethereum Cancun-Deneb (Dencun) upgrade is a big step forward for Ethereum. It aims to make Ethereum more scalable, efficient, and user-friendly. With the introduction of proto-danksharding and the foundation for future improvements, this upgrade is expected to improve decentralized finance and blockchain technology.