Cancun Upgrade: What Does It Mean for Ethereum’s Future?

Cancun Upgrade: What Does It Mean for Ethereum's Future?
Cancun Upgrade: What Does It Mean for Ethereum’s Future? Image By Motoviurii on Freepik

Ethereum Cancun upgrade on the main network is one of the prominent topics of discussion within the crypto community. 

There’s a good reason for this because ETH is the second-largest cryptocurrency, right after Bitcoin. It plays a vital role as the foundation for many of the crypto assets we know today.

Cancun is seen as a significant improvement following the previous Shanghai Ethereum upgrade implemented in April 2023, particularly with the EIP-4844 implementation. 

Why Is the Cancun Upgrade So Important?

Ethereum Cancun upgrade is a proposed upgrade aimed at enhancing the scalability and efficiency of its network through several new feature implementations. 

Unlike the Shanghai-Shappela Ethereum upgrade, which let people take out ETH from the staking program, the main goal of the Cancun upgrade is to make the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and the network work better.

This Ethereum upgrade is crucial for the network’s future because it enables cheaper and faster transaction processes.

Furthermore, the Cancun upgrade enables Layer-2 networks, such as Abitrum and Optimism, to conduct transactions 10x times faster than the current transaction speed due to the implementation of EIP-4844. 

Cancun represents a significant improvement by adopting various sophisticated proposals to ensure better scalability of the ETH network than before.

What Upgrades Included in Ethereum Cancun?

Vitalik Buterin and other Ethereum community members will simultaneously implement several new upgrade proposals, some of which are as follows:

Enhancing Ethereum Scalability

As per the official Ethereum website, the primary goal of the Cancun Upgrade is the implementation of EIP-4844, which is considered capable of improving network scalability, especially for Layer-2. 

This proposal makes transactions cheaper by using Binary Large Object (BLOB) to move transaction data to temporary storage on the consensus layer node.

Unlike regular transactions that store data permanently, the Cancun upgrade allows data to be temporarily stored and deleted when the transaction is completed, making the overall cost cheaper.

EVM Efficiency

Cancun upgrade also implements proposal EIP-5656, introducing new EVM instructions for efficient processing through memory optimization. 

This also supports more precise copying and enhances performance by around 10.5% in memory copying processes. 

This proposal is a significant enhancement, beneficial for various operations requiring computational power and for compilers to produce more efficient and smaller byte code. EIP-5656 will also save costs by simplifying the entire process.

Smart Contract Optimization

Smart contracts are one of the great things about the ETH network. Vitalik and other contributors are working to make them even better by using ideas from the EIP-1153 proposal.

This Ethereum upgrade proposal enables smart contracts to provide temporary storage without altering their entire data. Using transient storage simplifies interactions with contracts. 

Ethereum Cancun upgrade lets smart contracts keep important data temporarily during transactions, without having to start from scratch each time, which makes them work more efficiently.

Accessing Beacon Chain Through EVM

Ethereum Cancun will also incorporate proposal EIP-4788, enabling developers to access various Beacon Chain information through the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). 

This Ethereum upgrade maximizes functionality for various uses, such as smart contract optimization, staking, MeV mitigation, and more.

SELFDESTRUCT Operation Code Optimization

Another proposal is EIP-6780, this will optimize the SELFDESTRUCT operation code to be automatically set in the program, transferring all assets to the originating account that operates the code unless done through the same transaction.

What Will Be the Future Impact of the Cancun Upgrade on Ethereum?

Cancun is a crucial upgrade for the network. It makes Ethereum more scalable, secure, and user-friendly.

Developers will find it easier to create decentralized apps with the Cancun Upgrade, thanks to the EIP-4788 proposal.

Additionally, the EIP-4844 proposal speeds up transactions for Layer-2 networks like Optimism and Abitrum.

Conclusion

The Ethereum Cancun upgrade is an important update for the ETH network. It makes transactions faster and helps the network grow. In summary, the Cancun upgrade has a significant impact in several ways.

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