Ethereum’s Pectra fork adds dynamic blob fees to to improve L2 scaling

As a seasoned researcher with years of experience in the crypto space, I find myself closely following the latest developments in Ethereum, especially those aimed at improving network scalability and transaction efficiency. The upcoming Pectra fork, which includes the implementation of EIP-7742, promises to optimize blob-carrying transactions, a move that could significantly alleviate current network congestion issues.


Developers working on Ethereum plan to incorporate a proposed change, known as Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP), aimed at enhancing efficiency of data-containing transactions. This improvement is intended to boost the network’s capacity to handle more transactions in preparation for the upcoming Pectra split, with the goal of improving overall scalability.

EIP-7742 proposes a system that allows the Ethereum consensus layer to adjust dynamically the gas target and maximum values for blobs. This was shared by Christine Kim, Vice President of Research at Galaxy Digital, on platform X following her participation in Ethereum’s “All Core Devs” meeting.

In simpler terms, “Blobs” refer to substantial yet transient pieces of data inserted within Ethereum transactions. Their purpose is to reduce the cost of Ethereum layer 2 transactions by making them less expensive.

Kim suggested that EIP-7742 ought to augment the presently static limit of blobs, as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasized in the latter part of last month is approaching its maximum capacity and may imminently hamper scalability.

Kim stated that it’s quite probable an increase in blob count will be incorporated into Pectra as well. However, significant modifications intended to enhance scalability such as adjusting the gas limit or slot time are unlikely to be part of the update.

Ethereum’s Pectra fork adds dynamic blob fees to to improve L2 scaling

Alex Stokes, an Ethereum developer, clarified on GitHub that by expanding the blob parameters to allow for a more adaptable “target value relative to the blob maximum,” it will make the system less rigid by decreasing the current inflexibility associated with the fixed blob count.

The Pectra upgrade is expected to occur late this year or in early 2025.

Blobs were implemented via EIP-4844 on March 13 through the Dencun upgrade.

An alternate suggestion, EIP-7623, might help conserve blob storage by decreasing the maximum Ethereum block size from around 2.7 megabytes down to roughly 1 megabyte.

The addition of EIP (Ethereum Improvement Proposal) into the forthcoming division aligns with Vitalik Buterin’s vision for Ethereum’s primary network and secondary blockchains collectively reaching a transaction speed of 100,000 per second. This ambitious goal is part of a technical plan for Ethereum, referred to as “The Surge.

Cheap layer 2s may come at a literal cost

By choosing to handle Ethereum transactions on Layer 2 solutions, there’s been a significant reduction in the Ethereum mainnet’s portion of the overall network earnings – a situation that might negatively impact Ether’s (ETH) value over the long run, according to industry experts.

Over the past four months, the ratio of Ethereum’s revenue compared to that of Ethereum layer 2s has been approximately 10 to 90, as highlighted by Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at VanEck in a recent blog post dated October 17th.

Due to recent events unfolding in the past four months contradicting the initial assumptions, Sigel had to adjust VanEck’s bullish forecast that Ether would exceed $22,000 by 2030. This prediction was based on a 90:10 revenue split, but the actual outcome has been just the opposite of what was initially expected.

According to Sigel, if the current divide persists, VanEck’s prediction for Ether’s price would drop by approximately 67%, setting it at around $7,330.

Ethereum’s Pectra fork adds dynamic blob fees to to improve L2 scaling

In simpler terms, there’s a possibility that the situation might worsen as one of Ethereum‘s major income sources, the decentralized exchange Uniswap, is planning to shift focus and develop a new layer 2 platform called “Unichain.

Ether is currently trading at $2,615, down 0.5% over the last 24 hours.

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2024-10-18 08:49