Ethereum’s blockchain has just made a significant stride with its largest upgrade since early 2023, launching on its second of three test networks. This brings the eagerly-awaited ‘Dencun’ project and its revolutionary ‘proto-danksharding’ feature closer to reality.
Proto-danksharding is all about reducing transaction costs for layer-2 blockchains and making data availability more affordable. It introduces ‘blobs,’ a novel compartment for data storage. With the number of layer-2 chains on Ethereum rapidly increasing, this upgrade is crucial for supporting the ecosystem’s expansion.
The Sepolia testnet saw the Dencun upgrade come to life at 22:51 UTC on Thursday, finalizing shortly after. This marks Sepolia as the second testnet to simulate Dencun, following an earlier launch on the Goerli testnet. The final testnet, Holesky, is set for the Dencun upgrade on February 7.
Testnets are essential for developers, allowing them to tweak the protocol or decentralized applications in a low-risk environment. Post-Dencun, the community eagerly awaits the final date for its activation on the main Ethereum blockchain.
This monumental upgrade, initially slated for late 2023, follows the Shapella upgrade of last March, which enabled the withdrawal of staked ether (ETH).
