Ethereum is About to Have its Biggest Upgrade Ever: What You Need to Know

• Dencun is an upcoming Ethereum upgrade combining previous Cancun and Deneb upgrades to improve scalability, security, fees and user experience.
• Dencun introduces proto-danksharding to significantly reduce transaction fees (potentially 75% lower) and improve processing speeds.
• Dencun includes EIPs that target specific functions like programmable staking exits, enhanced security, scalability and usability.

The much-anticipated Ethereum Dencun upgrade will launch on the mainnet this Wednesday, March 13. This upgrade aims to improve scalability, security, fees and the overall user experience on the network. While users don’t need to do anything, they should be wary of scam communications asking them to connect wallets or click links related to the upgrade.

What is Dencun?

Dencun combines upgrades originally called Cancun and Deneb into one larger upgrade for Ethereum. It builds on last April’s Shanghai upgrade, which enabled staking on the proof-of-stake blockchain. Dencun has already been tested on Ethereum testnets and is now ready for the mainnet deployment.

How Dencun Will Impact Fees and Speed

At the core of Dencun is a new technique called proto-danksharding. This is expected to dramatically reduce transaction fees on the network, potentially by up to 75% immediately after launch. It will also significantly improve processing speeds across Ethereum. The upgrade makes Ethereum more attractive for developers building new protocols and DeFi projects.

Key Changes in the Upgrade

Dencun includes several Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) that target specific functions. EIP-7044 will introduce programmable staking exits, allowing validators to pre-define exit conditions to avoid penalties. Other EIPs enhance security, scalability and usability.

Conclusion

While not as buzzworthy as last year’s Merge, Dencun constitutes a major milestone for Ethereum. By improving scalability and reducing fees, it will help Ethereum maintain its dominance as the leading smart contract blockchain network. The upgrade ushers in a new era for the network as it continues to evolve and improve.