Starknet, a layer-2 scaling protocol, is set to amplify the cost-saving benefits of rollups on Ethereum after the implementation of the Dencun hard fork on March 13. The Starknet Foundation has announced additional fee-saving measures on its protocol to coincide with the Dencun upgrade, which is considered to be the most significant upgrade since Ethereum’s shift to proof-of-stake consensus in October 2022.
One of the key changes introduced by Dencun, through Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP-4844), is the alteration in how Ethereum rollups store data on the mainnet. Currently, layer-2 rollups aggregate and process transactions off-chain, and then submit a summary proof of these transactions to the Ethereum blockchain. However, using call data for storing cryptographic proofs of these off-chain transactions has been historically expensive, as all Ethereum nodes have to process this data indefinitely.
To address this issue, EIP-4844 introduces blob space as a replacement for call data. This allows rollups to attach data blobs to blocks, which are not accessible to the Ethereum Virtual Machine and are automatically deleted after 18 days. This change, known as proto-danksharding, is expected to significantly reduce costs for rollups while providing the same level of security.
While the fee reductions by layer-2s may not be immediately realized due to governance and upgrade procedures, the Starknet Foundation has announced a dedicated hard fork upgrade, Starknet version 0.13.1, that will coincide with Dencun. This upgrade will transition from the expensive call data method to the more cost-effective blobs transaction type, resulting in substantial fee reductions. Currently, call data accounts for nearly 90% of the gas fees Starknet pays for posting transactions to the Ethereum mainnet.
Ilia Volokh, StarkWare product manager and blockchain researcher, expects to see an immediate reduction in fees once Dencun is implemented. Volokh explains that Starknet’s shared prover, called SHARP, which sends state diffs to Ethereum as call data, will be shifted to blob space. State diffs contain information about updated contract storage and contract deployments. Furthermore, Starknet’s SHARP prover utilizes recursive proof technology, allowing for increased transaction capacity and improved efficiency.
Overall, the implementation of Dencun and the accompanying fee-saving initiatives on the Starknet protocol are expected to bring about significant cost reductions for rollups on Ethereum, benefiting both developers and users alike.