Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently brought attention to the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844, specifically focusing on the economic aspects of “blobs” on the Ethereum network.
Polymarket is predicting that blobs (~125 kB) will cost ~0.001 ETH.
Today, 125 kB calldata costs ~30 gwei per gas * 16 gas per byte * 125000 gas ~= 0.06 ETH
And if you think polymarket’s guess that blobs will be 60x cheaper is over-optimistic, you can use the market to hedge! pic.twitter.com/vUwJInNhCP
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) March 3, 2024
Blobs, as introduced by EIP-4844, are data bundles of approximately 125 kilobytes in size that can be attached to transactions. This proposal is part of Ethereum’s ongoing efforts to enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs.
According to current data, transmitting 125 kB of calldata on Ethereum incurs a cost of about 0.06 ETH. However, forecasts from Polymarket suggest that implementing EIP-4844 could lower the price of blobs to around 0.001 ETH. This cost reduction signifies a significant potential decrease in data storage and transaction expenses on the Ethereum network.
Three-Pronged Approach by EIP-4844
EIP-4844 outlines a three-pronged approach to tackle scalability issues. It introduces Type-3 transactions, enabling the attachment of blobs to transactions and offloading non-critical data from the main Ethereum chain.
This initiative aims to free up blockchain space and potentially reduce transaction fees. The proposal also aims to establish blob storage, temporarily storing blobs on beacon nodes for a set period.
A blob-based fee mechanism will also be introduced to encourage validators to include blobs in blocks, ensuring data availability without overburdening the network.
The potential economic benefits of EIP-4844, including reduced data transmission costs, are underlined by Buterin’s discussion of Polymarket predictions. These insights into the anticipated cost of blobs could offer stakeholders within the Ethereum ecosystem a means to hedge against price volatility.
As of now, the exact timeline for EIP-4844’s implementation remains uncertain. However, as stated by Buterin, the proposal is a vital step towards a more efficient and cost-effective Ethereum network.
