Proto-Danksharding is the name given to the changes implemented by EIP-4844, which activated on Ethereum mainnet with the Dencun hard fork in March 2024. It is called “proto” because it introduces the data structures and transaction format of full danksharding without yet implementing the full cryptographic machinery — specifically, Data Availability Sampling (DAS) — that danksharding requires at scale.
The upgrade’s core innovation is the blob transaction: a new Ethereum transaction type that carries up to 128KB of temporary binary data (“blobs”) used by Layer 2 rollups to post their compressed batch data. Blobs have their own fee market (blob gas), are stored by beacon nodes for ~18 days, then pruned — meaning they are never part of permanent Ethereum state and are dramatically cheaper than calldata.
How It Works
Proto-Danksharding implements several key components in preparation for full danksharding:
Blob-Carrying Transactions
A blob transaction (type 0x03) differs from a standard Ethereum transaction by including:
- Up to 6 blob sidecars (128KB each) — temporary data chunks
- A KZG commitment for each blob — a cryptographic fingerprint binding the proposer to the blob’s contents
- A KZG proof verifying the commitment
The blob data itself is propagated on the consensus layer p2p network (beacon nodes), not the execution layer. The EVM never sees blob data — it can only verify a blob’s KZG commitment is properly formed via the BLOBHASH opcode (EIP-4788). This separation is what makes blob storage cheap: no permanent state, no EVM processing.
Separate Blob Gas Market
Proto-Danksharding introduces a second fee market running in parallel with the existing EIP-1559 base fee:
- Blob gas is consumed per blob (each blob = 131,072 blob gas units)
- A blob base fee starts at 1 wei and adjusts via its own EIP-1559 mechanism
- Target: 3 blobs/block (max 6) at Dencun launch; raised to 6 target/9 max by Pectra (EIP-7691)
- When blob demand is below target, blob fees approach zero; when above, they rise
This independence from regular gas ensures that L2 fee spikes don’t affect L1 users and vice versa.
KZG Commitments (Not Fraud Proofs or ZK Proofs)
EIP-4844 uses KZG polynomial commitments, not traditional hash-based commitments. A KZG commitment allows:
- Verification that a blob’s contents are committed without downloading the full blob (enabling light node verification)
- Future point evaluation proofs: proving specific values within a blob at specific positions (crucial for DAS)
This is where “proto” ends: full danksharding would add DAS, where light clients randomly sample small chunks of each blob to verify availability without downloading everything — scaling throughput to 64+ blobs/block safely. Proto-Danksharding skips DAS; full nodes still download all blobs.
Impact on L2 Fees
The practical effect was immediate:
| L2 | Pre-Dencun avg fee | Post-Dencun avg fee |
|---|---|---|
| Optimism | ~$0.50–$2.00 | ~$0.01–$0.05 |
| Arbitrum | ~$0.10–$0.50 | ~$0.01–$0.03 |
| Base | ~$0.15–$1.00 | ~$0.005–$0.02 |
| zkSync | ~$0.20–$1.50 | ~$0.005–$0.02 |
Fees dropped 90%+ within hours of Dencun activation, primarily because L2s switched from using expensive calldata to posting batch data as blobs.
The Danksharding Roadmap
Proto-Danksharding sits in a broader multi-phase roadmap:
- Proto-Danksharding (EIP-4844) — Blob transactions, KZG commitments, separate blob fee market. Done (March 2024).
- Full Danksharding — Data Availability Sampling (DAS), enabling 64–128 blobs/block with light node verification. Future.
- The Verge — Verkle trees replace Merkle Patricia tries, enabling stateless clients and easier DAS implementation.
The reason full danksharding wasn’t shipped immediately is the need for a distributed validator / DAS infrastructure where light nodes can verify blob availability via random sampling. Building this infrastructure takes time; proto-danksharding captures most of the near-term fee benefit (L2s have a cheap data lane) while the full primitives are developed.
History
- Nov 2022 — EIP-4844 proposed by Vitalik Buterin, Dankrad Feist, Diederik Loerakker, Preston Van Loon, Ansgar Dietrichs, and Lightclient. Named after proposer Dankrad Feist.
- 2022–2023 — KZG trusted setup ceremony: Over 140,000 participants contributed cryptographic randomness at kzg-ceremony.ethereum.org — a record-setting trusted setup.
- 2023 — Testnet activations on Goerli, Sepolia, and Holesky, validating blob transaction mechanics.
- March 13, 2024 — Dencun hard fork activates, including EIP-4844. L2 fees drop 90%+ within hours.
- 2025 — Pectra (EIP-7691) doubles blob throughput targets to 6/9.
Common Misconceptions
“Proto-danksharding is just EIP-4844.”
Correct — “proto-danksharding” is the informal name for EIP-4844. The terms are used interchangeably.
“Blobs replace calldata.”
Not exactly — blobs are a new option. Smart contracts still use calldata; only L2 batch posting migrated to blobs because it’s cheaper for temporary data.
“Blobs are stored permanently like calldata.”
No — blobs are pruned after ~18 days. L2s only need the data available long enough for fraud provers or ZK provers to verify batches, after which historical blob data is no longer needed for chain security.
Social Media Sentiment
Proto-danksharding was broadly celebrated in the Ethereum community as one of the most impactful near-term scalability upgrades. On r/ethereum and Twitter/X, the pre-Dencun discussion focused on the dramatic L2 fee reductions — projections of 10–100x cost cuts were common. Post-Dencun, sentiment was enthusiastic as projections proved accurate: Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism fees dropped to fractions of a cent for many transaction types.
Some skepticism exists around blob fee spikes during high L2 activity — during major NFT mints or airdrop periods, blob fees have temporarily spiked. The Pectra blob throughput increase (EIP-7691) addresses this. Critics from the full danksharding camp point out that “proto” is doing a lot of lifting and full DAS remains years away.
Last updated: 2026-04