Dencun Meaning

Feb 23, 2024 | Updated Feb 23, 2024

Dencun is an upgrade on the Ethereum blockchain aimed to improve its performance by optimizing execution efficiency and data availability within the network.

What Is the Dencun Upgrade?

Cancun-Deneb (Dencun) upgrade is a portmanteau of Cancun and Deneb upgrades, simultaneously implemented on the Ethereum network. The Cancun upgrade comprises the changes made to the execution layer, while the Deneb upgrade focuses on boosting the consensus layer.

Therefore, Ethereum Dencun refers to Ethereum’s concerted efforts to boost execution efficiency and increase data availability within the network. It will be the most significant upgrade since the Shapella fork, which allowed the network’s validators and stakers to unstake and withdraw their staked Ether.

What are the key improvements?

The Cancun-Deneb upgrade primarily focuses on Ethereum Improvement Proposal 4844 (EIP-4844), also known as proto-danksharding. This update introduces ‘data blobs’ that increase the data availability capacity in Ethereum transactions while effectively reducing gas fees.

Other improvements included in the upgrade include:

EIP-1153: Enhances the efficiency of Ethereum smart contracts by minimizing permanent on-chain data storage costs and optimizing block space.
EIP-4788: Exposes the Beacon Chain to the execution layers to improve the interoperability between different chains, i.e., it enables direct interaction between smart contracts and Ethereum’s consensus state without needing an external data source.
EIP-5656: Seeks to make smart contract processing more efficient by optimizing memory management within the EVM.
EIP-6780: Reduces smart contract termination risks by limiting their SELFDESTRUCT function to certain conditions, such as blob expiry.
EIP-7044: Allows validators to seamlessly leave the network without compromising the validity of their actions in upcoming upgrades.
EIP-7045: Increases the limit for adding validator votes in the Beacon Chain.
EIP-7514: This improvement is designed to slow down the growth rate of the active Ethereum validator set by limiting them to a maximum of 8 per epoch.
EIP-7516: Enables smart contracts to directly retrieve the current base fee for on-chain data blobs, thereby facilitating manageable and predictable data blob costs in rollups.

When Did Dencun Ethereum Upgrade Go Live?

The Cancun-Deneb upgrade, set to launch on March 13, 2024, draws Ethereum a step closer to its scalability goal. The upcoming upgrade is a part of The Surge, the second phase in the Ethereum roadmap. One of its key features, proto-danksharding (EIP-4844), sets the stage for a more seamlessly full danksharding.