DebitMyData

Ethereum has come a long way since its inception, but the vision doesn’t stop here. One of the most exciting developments on the horizon is Danksharding—a future upgrade that promises to scale Ethereum to over 100,000 transactions per second (TPS).

While we’re not there yet, the Ethereum community is actively laying the groundwork through an interim solution known as proto-danksharding. In this blog, we’ll break down what danksharding is, how it relates to Layer 2 solutions, and what proto-danksharding brings to the table today.

What Is Danksharding?

Danksharding is a future upgrade to Ethereum’s architecture that aims to massively scale the network’s transaction throughput and reduce data costs. Once fully implemented, it could make Ethereum capable of handling 100,000+ TPS, a game-changing milestone for blockchain scalability.

However, Danksharding isn’t live yet. Instead, Ethereum is taking a phased approach—starting with proto-danksharding, which introduces some foundational elements.

Understanding Layer 2 Blockchains

To understand danksharding, it’s important to first understand Layer 2 (L2) blockchains.

L2s are protocols that sit on top of Ethereum (Layer 1) to increase scalability and efficiency. They process transactions off-chain and then post a summary of those transactions back to Ethereum.

Among these L2s, two types dominate the discussion:

• Optimistic Rollups

• zk-Rollups (Zero-Knowledge Rollups)

Both technologies “roll up” hundreds of transactions into a single one—making it faster and cheaper to use Ethereum. But there’s a tradeoff: more rollup activity leads to more data being posted back to Ethereum, increasing storage needs.

Enter: Proto-Danksharding (EIP-4844)

As Ethereum moves toward its danksharding goal, the network is rolling out a critical stepping stone: proto-danksharding, proposed under EIP-4844.

What’s in a Name?

The name “proto-danksharding” comes from its creators: Protolambda and Dankrad Feist. It's designed as a temporary step before full danksharding is deployed.

The Problem with CALLDATA

Currently, L2 rollups post their data to Ethereum using something called CALLDATA. This method:

• Stores data permanently on-chain

• Takes up valuable block space

• Is expensive for both developers and end users

The Blob Solution

Proto-danksharding changes that by introducing a new concept: blobs.

• A blob is a temporary data structure that lives off-chain.

• Unlike CALLDATA, blobs are not accessible to the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine).

• They are automatically deleted after about 3 months.

This drastically reduces storage costs and makes it much cheaper to post rollup data to Ethereum.

Each blob is tied to a cryptographic proof called a commitment, represented by a polynomial equation. These commitments are verified at multiple stages of a transaction’s journey to ensure data integrity.

Danksharding vs. Proto-Danksharding

Think of proto-danksharding as the blueprint for full danksharding.

According to Ethereum, the key difference lies in the number of blobs each block supports:

• Proto-Danksharding: 1 blob per block

• Danksharding: Up to 64 blobs per block

Beyond this, danksharding also introduces upgrades to Ethereum’s consensus layer to handle these larger blobs. Many of these updates are already on the roadmap for other improvements, so the transition to full danksharding will build on existing efforts.

When Will Danksharding Launch?

As of now, danksharding does not have a set release date. However, the Ethereum community is actively progressing through proto-danksharding’s development.

The KZG Ceremony

A key milestone in proto-danksharding’s journey is the KZG Ceremony, a process that generates secure cryptographic parameters for blob verification.

So far, over 50,000 people have participated, each contributing a unique random string and deleting any previous trace—helping Ethereum build a trustworthy foundation for blob commitments.

According to the Ethereum Foundation:

“The EIP for Proto-Danksharding is mature, the specification is agreed and the clients have implemented prototypes that are currently being tested and made production-ready. The next step is to implement the changes on a public testnet.”

Once deployed, proto-danksharding will significantly reduce L2 transaction fees and pave the way for full danksharding—making Ethereum faster, cheaper, and more scalable than ever before.