Ethereum devs eye January for Dencun testing

Ethereum Foundation Developers set tentative dates for a major upgrade to scale crypto’s biggest altcoin blockchain. 

During a biweekly call, developers disclosed that Jan. 17 is a possible date for testing the Dencun upgrade on Goerli’s testnet. Dencun was delayed past Q4 2023 due to technical difficulties building its code.

The upgrade, known as EIP-4844,  aims to increase blockchain space for data blobs and slash layer-2 rollup fees by activating proto-danksharding. This data storage expansion should scale Ethereum’s blockchain, enabling more transaction capacity without hiking gas fees.

Barring any disruption and assuming Dencun successfully tests on Goerli, devs plan to upgrade Sepolia’s testnet by Jan. 31 and Holesky’s network by Feb. 7. These forks represent the largest test chains on Ethereum. 

The final soft target for shipping Dencun to the mainnet was set for February’s end, however, this timeline is subject to change depending on developments. Dencun marks the first major technological upgrade since developers added withdrawal support for staked Ether (ETH) through Shapella’s update. 

In related news, the EthereumPoW network has moved toward complete autonomy by disbanding its core development team. This initiative was formed in 2022, shortly before ETH’s blockchain transitioned from a proof-of-work model to proof-of-stake. 

Regarding ETH market performance for 2024, JPMorgan analysts believe the asset will reclaim market share from Bitcoin (BTC) and likely outclass most large-cap native blockchain tokens. An approved spot ETH ETF could also signal billions of dollars into defi’s leading chain.