Vitalik Buterin Warns: Ethereum Blob Count Approaching Critical Limit
“I think the ecosystem is sleeping on the fact that it’s uncomfortably close to a ceiling,” cautions Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, emphasizing the urgent need to address the current state of the network’s blob count.
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Buterin is advocating for an increase in the “blob count,” a feature introduced during the recent Dencun upgrade, aimed at enhancing network scalability and enabling layer-2 protocols to increase capacity.
Listen Article: cointelegraph.com
In a discussion thread following the latest developer call, Buterin revealed that the blob space is currently around 75% full. To expand this capacity, he proposed changes through Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-7623.
Blob space, as defined by EIP-4844—also known as proto-danksharding—serves as a dedicated data storage area designed to improve Ethereum’s scalability. This space is crucial for temporarily storing large amounts of data, primarily benefiting layer-2 rollups.
The blob count refers to the number of blobs that can be included in each Ethereum block. Currently, the target is three blobs per block, with a maximum of six. However, Buterin is advocating for an increase to a target of four blobs, with a maximum of eight, to allow for more data storage per block. This adjustment could significantly enhance the capacity for layer-2 networks to publish their data on Ethereum.
Details on EIP-7623
EIP-7623 aims to increase the call data cost for transactions that primarily utilize Ethereum for data availability (DA). This change would effectively reduce the maximum block size from 2.7 megabytes to approximately 1MB, making room to potentially increase the block gas limit or the number of blobs.
Buterin expressed concern that some layer-2 solutions are hesitant to transition to using blobs due to fears of market congestion. He emphasized the importance of maintaining momentum in moving more layer-2s toward blob usage, stating, “EIP-7623 is crucial for this because it ensures that the worst-case size of a block massively decreases.”
While Buterin views layer-2 networks as essential to Ethereum’s scaling efforts, he also stressed the need for these solutions to remain decentralized. He recently noted that he will only recognize scaling solutions at “stage 1” of his decentralization scale.
In a September 26 post on X, Jesse Pollak, creator of Coinbase’s layer-2 solution Base, expressed strong support for Buterin’s proposal to increase the blob count. Pollak stated that the proposal “reduces worst-case block size and adds needed capacity for fast-growing L2s,” and described the growth as “exponential.”
The highly anticipated Prague upgrade will focus on enhancements to the network’s execution layer, while the Electra upgrade will impact the consensus layer, hence the combined name Pectra (Prague Electra). This upgrade includes several EIPs aimed at improving scalability, introducing account abstraction, and increasing validator staking limits.
To expedite deployment, Ethereum developers have proposed splitting the Pectra upgrade into two segments, PectraA and PectraB.
