Ethereum is moving toward a more mature phase of development with a focus on stable and scalable solutions that will enable a broader range of applications, said Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin in his recent blog post. In other words, Buterin wants his Layer-1 (L1) blockchain to completely solve the scalability issues and become the robust technological layer for user and application layers.
So it looks like Ethereum is gearing up for a future of scaled uses post-Dencun.
According to Buterin, the recent Dencun hard fork introduced proto-danksharding, also known as EIP-4844 or “blobs,” which considerably cut down the rollup transaction fees. With blobs, Ethereum’s scaling focus has shifted from building the initial solution to continuous improvement.
“Blobs are the moment where Ethereum scaling ceased to be a “zero-to-one” problem, and became a “one-to-N” problem. From here, important scaling work, both in increasing blob count and in improving rollups’ ability to make the best use of each blob, will continue to take place, but it will be more incremental,” wrote Buterin.
Mr. B is Optimistic
As noted by Buterin, Ethereum’s future upgrades will target increasing blob capacity and Layer-2 (L2) efficiency. To achieve these goals, Buterin proposed implementing data availability sampling (DAS).
DAS has been in the headlines over the past few months, alongside the trend toward modular blockchains. Buterin noted that the integration of DAS helps verify large amounts of rollup data off-chain. He also introduced PeerDAS, a simplified version of DAS, as a potential first step.
In addition to data availability sampling, Buterin identified four key development areas for L2 protocols, including data compression, optimistic data techniques, internal L2 scaling, and enhanced security. For optimistic data techniques, he suggested exploring solutions like Plasma, where L2 protocols only return data to L1 chains in exceptional circumstances. This improves scalability, according to Buterin.
Ethereum’s founder also urged developers to adapt to Ethereum’s new mindset and move beyond the limitations of the earlier era. He encouraged a sole focus on user privacy through zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proofs) while maintaining transparency, plus, the adoption of account abstraction for wallets, as well as new governance solutions to strengthen Web3.
Legal Roadblock?
Buterin’s latest insights come amid ongoing legal scrutiny on Ethereum’s native coin, Ether (ETH).
A recent Fortune report said that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a campaign to classify Ether as a security.
According to sources familiar with the matter, a number of companies in the US have received subpoenas from the SEC requesting all documents and financial records related to transactions between the companies and the Ethereum Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting the development of Ethereum and its community.
Meanwhile, an update on GitHub in late February this year showed that the Ethereum Foundation is under investigation by an “unstated authority,” which many believe was the SEC. Still, there is no official confirmation from the securities agency.
Since the Merge, the major upgrade that marked Ethereum’s transition from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake consensus, SEC Chair Gary Gensler believes that all Ethereum transactions are under US jurisdiction and considers the ETH staking mechanism a securities investment contract.
Sources close to the case suggest that the alleged move from the SEC is part of the reviewing process for spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings. However, analysts remain cautious about the chances of approval before the May deadline.
However, not everyone views the SEC’s involvement as a negative development. Some argue that it’s a standard procedure for government agencies to investigate new financial technologies. They believe the situation might be overblown.
In a recent interview with Fox Business, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said that even if the SEC declares Ether security, there’s still a chance for spot Ethereum ETF approval.
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