Vitalik Buterin Urges Increase In Ethereum Blob Quantity For Network Expansion

According to PANews, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called for an increase in the number of 'blobs' introduced during the Dencun upgrade to further expand the network and enhance Layer 2 protocol capacity. In a discussion following the latest developer conference call, Buterin revealed that the current usage rate of blob space is nearing 75%, necessitating an increase through the EIP-7623 proposal. He stated, 'I believe the entire ecosystem is ignoring the fact that it is alarmingly close to the limit.' Blob space, introduced by EIP-4844 (also known as proto-danksharding), is a dedicated data storage area aimed at improving network scalability. The number of blobs refers to the quantity that can be included in each Ethereum block. The current target is three blobs per block, with a maximum of six. However, Buterin now advocates for increasing this to four blobs per block, with a maximum of eight, to allow each block to store more data. This could enhance the ability of Layer 2 networks to publish data on Ethereum. The EIP-7623 proposal suggests raising the calldata cost for Ethereum transactions primarily used for data availability (DA), which would reduce the maximum block size from 2.7MB to approximately 1MB, thereby creating space for potentially increasing the block gas limit or the number of blobs. Buterin expressed concern over some Layer 2 protocols hesitating to use blobs due to fears of market congestion, warning, 'We cannot let the momentum for more Layer 2 protocols to use blobs diminish.' He believes Layer 2 networks are crucial for Ethereum's expansion but emphasized that these networks must remain decentralized. Recently, he stated that he only intends to endorse scaling solutions in their 'first stage' of decentralization. Earlier today, the latest Ethereum ACDE meeting discussed the possibility of including multiple EIPs related to the Ethereum blob fee market in Pectra.