Danksharding and proto-danksharding are critical components in upgrading the Ethereum consensus layer. These technologies aim to enhance Ethereum’s scalability and efficiency, particularly in the context of layer-2 rollup solutions.

Danksharding is a layer-2 scaling solution designed to empower the world’s second most popular blockchain, Ethereum , to achieve its full potential. Proto-danksharding is an intermediate step in the danksharding roadmap. Proto-danksharding, approved as part of EIP-4844, has been officially incorporated into Ethereum improvement proposals within the Ethereum Cancun-Deneb upgrade. 

The upgrade was activated on the Goerli testnet on Jan. 17. As per Dencun’s testing schedule, the next significant phase is scheduled for Jan. 30, with the implementation on the Sepolia testnet. The Holesky testnet is set to follow on Feb 7. However, the Ethereum development team has not yet disclosed the mainnet implementation date for the upgrade.

Danksharding Ethereum aims to make Ethereum layer-2 solutions , particularly rollups, as cost-effective and as fast as possible as the blockchain becomes more congested with users. Danksharding and proto-danksharding are core to the future of Ethereum scaling. 

Danksharding is one of the final stages of various long-term Ethereum network upgrades to maximize the network’s capacity. So far, core elements of this process have included major network shifts, including the staggered transition from proof-of-work consensus to proof-of-stake .

 

How layer-2 solutions enhance blockchain efficiency and scalability

 

Layer 2s boost and enhance the capabilities of base layer blockchains like Ethereum. For Ethereum, rollups have emerged as a viable and effective layer-2 solution.

Layer-2 solutions refer to any secondary framework or protocol built on top of an existing blockchain that adds features that improve the scaling capabilities of the base chain. Layer 2 operates as separate off-chain networks from layer 1 base chains, where transactions are processed and then verified periodically on-chain. 

While base Ethereum can only process about 15 transactions per second, layer 2s can process thousands of transactions at low costs because of design choices within the periphery network that optimize the transaction processing capabilities of layer-2 solutions.

Security and decentralization are still maintained because there is a process where the larger, decentralized base chain still validates transactions from the off-chain layer 2. Blockchain users can interact with a layer-2 front-end like Arbitrum , which processes transactions much more quickly and cheaply than Ethereum.

Rollups are a form of layer-2 solution alongside channels, plasma, sidechains and validium. Rollup-based layer 2s like Arbitrum and Optimism dominate transactions among Ethereum layer 2s. 

Rollups execute transactions on a layer 2 before batching (rolling up) together the information they contain and sending this to the mainchain periodically for verification. This method enables the spread of fixed costs across multiple transactions, reducing costs arising from gas price volatility.

 

Ethereum scalability and the evolution of rollups

 

In the pursuit of enhancing Ethereum’s scalability, a primary solution has emerged: Rollups. Rollups powered with technology like danksharding represent a robust effort to enhance Ethereum’s scalability, reduce transaction costs and maintain the network’s foundational principles of decentralization and security.

Optimistic rollups and zero-knowledge rollups (ZK-rollups) are the two primary forms of rollups available. Optimistic rollups are currently the most popular form of Ethereum scalability solutions. They operate alongside the Ethereum blockchain and are composable, which is a critical advantage.

Optimistic rollups are called “optimistic” because they assume the transactions they shift off-chain are valid. There is no on-chain proof of validity, and the ability to challenge transactions is built into optimistic rollups to maintain security. 

The challenge period of an optimistic rollup is the window when users may dispute a transaction they view as invalid. Within the window, they can challenge the validity of a transaction by submitting a fraud proof, which is a mechanism for demonstrating the invalidity of a particular transaction or batch of transactions. 

Both the sequencer — similar to a validator in layer 1s, which submits and orders a block of translation — and the disputer are required to post a bond. If a transaction is found to be invalid, the sequencer’s bond is slashed. If the fraud proof is found to be invalid and the transaction is valid, then the disputer’s bond will be forfeited. 

The other primary form of rollup is the ZK-rollup. Zero-knowledge rollups publish cryptographic proofs-of-validity for off-chain transactions . Operators of ZK-rollup chains submit validity proofs to the main chain that demonstrate with cryptographic certainty that the proposed changes to Ethereum’s state are due to a batch of valid transactions that were processed off-chain.

Optimistic rollups are more popular than ZK-rollups because they can execute smart contracts . ZK-rollups, however, are mostly limited to simple transactions. 

Rollups execute transactions outside of Ethereum but, currently, inefficiently post transaction data to the mainnet as calldata. This process is set to be optimized by proto-danksharding and danksharding.

 

Danksharding and proto-danksharding introduce data blobs to Ethereum

 

The optimization of Ethereum’s rollup solutions relies on specific components of danksharding and proto-danksharding, such as data blobs and the KZG polynomial commitment scheme. These technological elements serve as the foundation for enhancing Ethereum’s rollup capabilities.

Core to the layer-2 scaling danksharding implementation is the introduction of blobs. Blobs refer to large units of data that are designed to be part of Ethereum’s transactional structure. Rollups currently use calldata to store transaction data. 

Calldata is imperfect for rollups because data stored in it needs to be processed by all Ethereum nodes, and it is left on the blockchain permanently. This permanence is not always necessary for rollups since they typically only require the data for a limited time to validate and execute transactions.

Proto-danksharding will introduce data blobs that can be attached to transaction blocks and will automatically delete in one to three months. Blobs are transactions carrying a 125-kilobyte “blob” payload stored on the Ethereum consensus layer, not the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) like calldata. This method helps reduce the storage overhead and allows the data in rollup transactions to be sent more cheaply, enabling savings for end users (i.e., less gas fees).

Proto-danksharding utilizes the KZG polynomial commitment scheme, which is named after the scheme’s three original authors (Kate, Zaverucha and Goldberg). KZG compresses data blobs into small cryptographic commitments. 

KZG uses a cryptographic technique that allows data stored within blobs to be validated without needing to process the entire blob directly and without revealing the full contents of the blob.  This is compatible with the zero-knowledge design used by some layer-2 protocols, which will be used across Ethereum scaling at some stage. 

That said, danksharding is the full realization of rollups. While proto-danksharding allows rollup transactions to attach one blob to a block, danksharding will expand this to 64 blobs. Danksharding is set to create a huge amount of space for optimistic rollups to dump their compressed transaction data. Danksharding hopes to support an expanding rollup ecosystem and allow thousands of transactions per second.

 

Danksharding and proto-danksharding challenge the blockchain trilemma

 

For a blockchain, achieving a balance between scalability, decentralization and security is almost impossible. Optimized layer 2s help overcome this trilemma. 

The blockchain trilemma concept posits that it is extremely challenging for a blockchain network to achieve scalability, decentralization and security simultaneously. The term was coined by Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin , and in his view, blockchain platforms can only achieve two of these three goals effectively. Blockchains often need to find out-of-the-box ways to scale effectively and maintain blockchain transaction throughput without sacrificing security and decentralization.

Unlike traditional financial networks, blockchains do not rely on third parties like banks to maintain a record and verify transaction ledgers. In a blockchain, this process is conducted by a decentralized network of independent computers called nodes. 

A more decentralized network with a larger group of nodes also contributes to security. The more nodes a blockchain has, the more theoretically secure it becomes. A potential attacker would need to invest more computational power to take over a larger network and conduct a 51% attack or network takeover. 

Security powered by higher decentralization directly affects the scalability of a network, as every transaction needs to be validated across a large number of nodes. This means that as the network becomes larger, more information needs to be processed by more participants. 

These issues have often emerged with larger blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, where transactions for end users become expensive and slow during periods of network congestion because blockchain security models mandate a process that cannot be overridden. Ethereum protocol development has prioritized scaling to address these issues, especially given the substantial growth of the network.

 

Optimized layer-2 solutions empower blockchains against centralized payment giants

 

While blockchain systems may inherently struggle to match the transaction processing efficiency of centralized giants like Visa, layer-2 solutions, such as rollups, optimized by technology like danksharding, level the playing field.

Centralized payment systems like Visa can process transactions at scale much more quickly because these networks are closed and don’t require shared consensus. Solutions like danksharding and proto-danksharding are designed to challenge the blockchain trilemma by sharding the blockchain . Layer-2-based off-chain transaction processing is built to enable an increase in Ethereum network capacity, and danksharding helps to optimize one of Ethereum’s core layer-2 solutions: rollups.   

While both danksharding and proto-danksharding contain the word sharding, neither follows the traditional blockchain sharding technology model, which aims to split up a blockchain into multiple parts. Ethereum shard chains are no longer part of the blockchain’s roadmap. 

Instead, danksharding uses distributed data sampling across blobs to scale Ethereum. This is much simpler to implement than the more advanced blockchain sharding techniques. This model has sometimes been referred to as “data-sharding.”

 

When will the Ethereum roadmap be finished?

 

The Ethereum roadmap’s completion date is flexible and could alter as new information and technological advancements become accessible. 

In the following six months, a few updates, such as staking withdrawals, are anticipated to be implemented. Some enhancements, like quantum resistance, might not be applied for another five to 10 years. 

Since components are being developed concurrently and at varying speeds, it is difficult to determine when the roadmap will be completed. Furthermore, outside variables may cause the urgency of an upgrade to fluctuate over time. 

The evolution of Ethereum can be compared to biological evolution, where adaptability is critical, and as the network becomes more performant, scalable and secure, fewer changes will be required.​