EIP-4844: Proto-Danksharding (Blob Transactions)
EIP-4844 introduced blob-carrying transactions (Type 3) to Ethereum. Each blob holds 128 KB of data that is cheap to post but is pruned from nodes after ~18 days (not permanently stored in the EVM state). This dramatically reduced L2 rollup posting costs because rollups can post batch data as blobs rather than expensive calldata. The blob fee market is separate from the gas fee market, with its own exponential escalator targeting 3 blobs/block (6 max).
Authors: Vitalik Buterin · Dankrad Feist · Diederik Loerakker · George Kadianakis · Matt Garnett · Mofi Taiwo · Ansgar Dietrichs
Protocol Impact
90–99% reduction in L2 data posting costsVERIFIED
- Blob data costs 1 gas unit vs calldata at 16 gas/byte — ~100× cheaper per byte
- Each blob holds 128 KB; max 6 blobs/block (target: 3)
- Independent blob fee market: base fee escalates exponentially above 50% utilization
- Data is pruned after ~18 days — not stored permanently in Ethereum state
- Enabled L2 transaction fees to drop from dollars to cents within days of activation
L2 Batch Data Cost per KB
Cost to post 1 KB of rollup batch data on Ethereum L1COST REDUCTION
| Metric | Before | After EIP-4844 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calldata (pre-Dencun) | ~$2.50 / MB | -100% | |
| Blob (post-Dencun) | ~$0.02 / MB | — |
Blob data is ~125× cheaper per byte than equivalent calldata at equal gas prices
Dencun Upgrade
Other EIPs activated in the same forkDencun· 2024-03-13LIVE
No other tracked EIPs in this fork.