Ethereum Layer 2s Witness Significant Drop in Transaction Fees After Dencun Upgrade

Ethereum Layer-2 Protocols See Significant Drop in Transaction Fees After Dencun Upgrade

The recent Dencun upgrade on Ethereum’s mainnet has led to a substantial decrease in transaction fees for layer-2 (L2) protocols. Some protocols have reported a reduction of up to 99%, making it one of the most significant upgrades since the Merge.

Starknet, a popular Ethereum-based L2, has seen a significant drop in gas fees, with a reduction of 99% after the Dencun upgrade. The protocol shared a screenshot showing the latest gas fee of $0.04, compared to the previous $6.

Other L2 platforms, including Optimism, Base, and Zora OP mainnet, have also experienced a dramatic decline in gas fees after the Dencun upgrade. The average transaction fees for Optimism have dropped to $0.05, $0.064 for Base, $0.5 for Arbitrum, and $0.16 for zkSync Era. Within 24 hours of the upgrade, Optimism and other chains using its technology have seen the most significant reductions in gas fees.

ArbOS Upgrade to Introduce Blob Support for Arbitrum One

One of the most widely used L2 platforms, Arbitrum One, is planning to launch its ArbOS upgrade today. This upgrade will introduce blob support to Arbitrum rollup chains, further improving the platform’s efficiency and scalability.

The Dencun Hard Fork: Improving Scalability and Lowering Fees for Ethereum’s L2s

The recent Dencun hard fork, which implemented nine Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), including EIP-484 introducing data blobs, has brought significant changes to the Ethereum network. These new data blobs offer a faster and more cost-effective way for L2s to publish information on the mainnet. After two years of development, the Dencun upgrade has finally been released.

According to Tim Beiko from the Ethereum Foundation, Dencun is the most complex fork since the Merge and ties with Byzantium for the most EIPs included. The main goal of this upgrade was to improve scalability and reduce gas fees, which has been achieved through the implementation of data blobs.

Early reports show that several L2s have already seen a decrease in transaction costs due to the Dencun hard fork. However, experts believe that this may only be a temporary solution and that more improvements will be needed to truly scale the Ethereum network.

As the use of data blobs becomes more widespread and competition for blob space increases, it is predicted that fees on L2 chains may also rise, resulting in higher transaction costs. This highlights the need for continued development and innovation in the world of crypto, with projects like Celsius, Compound, Bitrise, and others making headlines in the industry today.