Vitalik Buterin's Call for Action

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is urging Ethereum to increase its blob count. This feature was introduced during Ethereum's Dencun upgrade. The aim is to scale the network further and enable layer-2 protocols to increase their capacity.

In a discussion thread following Ethereum's latest developer call, Buterin revealed some startling statistics. He mentioned that blob space is currently around 75% full.

He stressed the need for changes via EIP-7623 to increase the blob count, stating, "I think the ecosystem is sleeping on the fact that it's uncomfortably close to a ceiling."

Understanding Blob Space

Blob space refers to a specialized data storage area introduced by EIP-4844, also known as proto-danksharding. This space is designed to improve the scalability of the Ethereum network. It primarily benefits layer-2 rollups by storing large amounts of data temporarily.

The blob count is the number of blobs that can be included in each Ethereum block. The target is three blobs per block, with a maximum of six.

Buterin has now advocated increasing this to a target of four blobs per block with a maximum of eight. This change would allow more data to be stored per block, potentially enhancing the capacity for L2 networks to post their data on Ethereum.

'We cannot afford to let the momentum slip on moving more layer 2s over to using blobs,' Buterin emphasized.

EIP-7623 and Its Implications

EIP-7623 proposes increasing the call data cost for transactions primarily using Ethereum for data availability (DA)**. This would reduce the maximum block size from 2.7MB to approximately 1MB, making room for potentially increasing the block gas limit or the number of blobs.

Vitalik expressed concern that some L2s are hesitant to move to blobs due to potential market congestion. He warned that momentum cannot be lost on this front. 'EIP-7623 is crucial for this because it ensures that the worst-case size of a block massively decreases,' he added.

Support from the Community

Vitalik views layer-2 networks as essential components for Ethereum scaling. However, he emphasized that they must be decentralized. Recently, he stated that he only plans to acknowledge scaling solutions at 'stage 1' of his decentralization scale.

In a post on X, Coinbase L2 Base creator Jesse Pollak strongly supported Vitalik's proposal to increase blob count. He said it 'reduces worst-case block size and adds needed capacity for fast-growing L2s' before exclaiming that 'the growth is exponential.'

Upcoming Upgrades

The highly anticipated Prague upgrade will focus on changes to the network's execution layer.

The Electra upgrade will impact the consensus layer, hence the combined name Pectra (Prague Electra). It includes several EIPs to improve scalability, introduce account abstraction, and increase validator staking limits.

Ethereum developers have proposed splitting the Pectra upgrade into PectraA and PectraB segments, which aims to accelerate its deployment.