Summary
TLDR: The Dencun upgrade on Ethereum’s layer-2 networks has drastically reduced transaction fees by over 90%, making transactions on networks like Arbitrum, Starknet, and Optimism much cheaper. This is due to a new data storage solution called proto-danksharding. While some layer-2 networks are still in the process of integrating the update, most have already seen a significant increase in network activity. Critics warn that transaction costs may rise with increased network traffic, but developers hope that the reduced fees will encourage more users to engage with Ethereum on layer 2 networks instead of the mainnet.
Key Points
1. Dencun upgrade on layer-2 networks has led to a significant reduction in gas fees, with costs dropping by over 90% on networks like Arbitrum, Starknet, Optimism, Base, and Zora.
2. The implementation of proto-danksharding and blobs has allowed for temporary on-chain data storage, enabling the near-elimination of gas fees for ETH transfers, token swaps, and NFT-related transactions on layer-2 networks.
3. While some layer-2 networks are still in the process of fully integrating Dencun-related updates, the increased network activity and reduced gas fees are expected to shift routine transactions from the costly mainnet to layer-2 networks, without significantly impacting traffic on the Ethereum mainnet.