Contents
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Introduction
Key Proposals of London
Significant Reduction in Layer 2 Gas Fees
Revolutionary Impact on the Entire Ecosystem
Conclusion
Introduction
Since the release of the Ethereum whitepaper in 2013, the network has undergone continuous upgrades, bringing new capabilities and opportunities each time. The upcoming London upgrade, scheduled for February 2024, represents a major leap forward and will bring a series of revolutionary impacts to the entire Ethereum ecosystem.
Key Proposals of London
The most transformative proposal of London is EIP-4844, which introduces a new block data structure called Blob for Layer 2 transaction data submitted to Layer 1. By storing data in the consensus layer via Blob instead of Calldata in the execution layer, storage costs can be significantly reduced, and automatic deletion of Blobs after a month can greatly reduce costs. This greatly relieves the burden on the execution layer. Blob also enables a separate fee mechanism, leading to a substantial reduction in Layer 2 gas fees.
In addition to EIP-4844, London includes several other groundbreaking proposals:
EIP-1153 introduces temporary smart contract storage with new opcodes, allowing each transaction to pay a single gas fee instead of permanent storage fees. This provides greater flexibility and efficiency for dApps.
EIP-4788 strengthens the consensus-execution link by incorporating the consensus root into the execution block. This allows dApps to access consensus data in a more trustless manner.
EIP-5656 simplifies workflow and reduces gas costs for smart contract execution through memory-copying opcodes.
Significant Reduction in Layer 2 Gas Fees
The London upgrade is expected to significantly lower gas fees for Layer 2 transactions through several key means:
The independent fee structure of Blob greatly reduces data storage costs compared to Calldata.
Temporary blob data storage further reduces long-term storage costs.
EIP-1153 allows cheaper temporary contract storage instead of permanent storage fees.
Opcode optimizations such as EIP-5656 streamline workflows and reduce execution costs.
Some estimates suggest that after London, total transaction fees for Layer 2 protocols could decrease by 10 times or more, making usage more economical for users. Lower Layer 2 gas fees are expected to accelerate the adoption of Ethereum Layer 2 solutions.
Revolutionary Impact on the Entire Ecosystem
The profound changes introduced by London will have far-reaching effects on a wider Ethereum ecosystem. The significant improvement in Layer 2 performance will change the game for high-volume industries such as gaming, NFTs, and derivatives. For example, bottlenecks in transaction throughput for blockchain games will be alleviated, paving the way for exponentially more interactive and decentralized gaming experiences.
With the reduction in gas fees, the minting and trading of NFTs will also become easier and more affordable. This can attract more users and project creators to enter the Web3 space. The lower gas fees also enable more complex NFT utilities involving multiple transactions, such as fractionalization.
In addition to specific use cases, lower gas fees reshape the core developer experience on Ethereum. As the capacity for deployment, testing, and iteration becomes more robust, the barriers to building innovative dApps will be lowered. This could expand the Ethereum developer community.
The more economical execution also enables previously cost-prohibitive new categories of dApps, sparking new directions for creativity and innovation on Ethereum.
The direct aggregation of consensus data opens up possibilities for reliable on-chain analytics, transparent insights, and trustless applications involving core protocol information. This enhances Ethereum’s capabilities as a solid foundation for decentralized finance and Web3. Use cases such as blockchain analytics, governance protocols, and shared data patterns can benefit from accessing verified consensus data.
Conclusion
As the cornerstone of Web3, with the comprehensive improvements of London, Ethereum’s position and influence will further expand. Extensive testing has already been conducted on test networks, thanks to the dedicated Ethereum developer community committed to ensuring a smooth upgrade.
London represents a watershed moment in Ethereum’s history, where dazzling innovations will fundamentally change almost every aspect of the network, from performance and scalability to accessibility and applications. The crypto world eagerly awaits the significant impact of Ethereum’s next evolution.
This article is provided by the official source and does not represent the stance or investment advice of this website. Readers are strongly advised to conduct their own careful evaluation.
