Starknet, a layer-2 scaling protocol, is gearing up to amplify the benefits of reduced costs for rollups following Ethereum’s latest hard fork, Dencun, scheduled for March 13.
The Starknet Foundation has unveiled additional fee-saving initiatives on its protocol, coinciding with the Dencun upgrade, which is considered one of the most substantial updates to Ethereum’s protocol since its transition to proof-of-stake consensus.
A key aspect of Dencun is Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP-4844), altering how Ethereum rollups store data on the mainnet. Rollups aggregate and process transactions off-chain, submitting a summary proof to the Ethereum blockchain.
EIP-4844 introduces blob space as a replacement for using call data for storage, significantly reducing costs. Proto-danksharding allows rollups to attach data blobs to blocks, which are automatically deleted after 18 days.
Starknet anticipates an immediate reduction in fees as it transitions from the costly call data method to the more cost-effective “blobs” transaction type. This shift is expected to benefit Starknet significantly, with call data accounting for nearly 90% of the gas fees it pays to post transactions to Ethereum.
The Starknet Foundation has announced a hard fork upgrade (Starknet version 0.13.1) concurrent with Dencun, facilitating the transition to blob space. This move aims to provide immediate benefits to users, with fees reflecting accurate reductions within an hour of Dencun’s implementation.
Starknet’s SHARP prover, utilising recursive proof technology, will shift to blob space, enhancing the protocol’s efficiency. Additionally, a new hash system introduced in early 2024 will increase transaction capacity, further optimising Starknet’s performance.
