Ethereum Confirms Dencun Upgrade Delayed Until 2024
The delayed progress on testnet deployments has led Ethereum to postpone the Dencun upgrade to next year.
Ethereum Confirms Dencun Upgrade Delayed Until 2024
At the latest scheduled meeting, Ethereum core developers confirmed that the Dencun upgrade will not be rolled out by the end of this year as initially planned.
Concerns over timing among Ethereum developers stem from the fact that the upgrade has yet to be deployed on Ethereum's testnets like Goerli, Sepolia, and Holesky.
Back in September, developers estimated that if the upgrade couldn't be deployed on testnets before the Devconnect conference (a week-long event connecting Ethereum developers) in mid-November, Dencun would need to be pushed to next year.
This week, Ethereum underwent the closed testing phase of Devnet 10. However, the results seem to have fallen short of expectations. Developer Potuz commented on the 10 testnets, stating that "none of the networks performed smoothly."
Devnet 11 has been planned, but transitioning to public testnets may continue to be delayed beyond Devconnect as developers feel uncertain about bringing the entire client onto the testnet, citing ongoing significant adjustments within the system.
The activation of Dencun hinges on several factors such as the readiness of source code across consensus layers and Ethereum's execution, as well as the preparedness of multiple client teams—all of which need extensive testing time on public testnets.
Dencun represents Ethereum's next significant upgrade following Shanghai/Shapella, which was implemented in April 2023. The name Dencun is a combination of Deneb and Cancun. By early June, the upgrade finalized 5 major changes for Ethereum, including:
- EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding): Proposing reduced transaction data storage costs.
- EIP-4788: Improving cross-chain bridge design and staking pools.
- EIP-5656: Updating some minor changes to the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
- EIP-1153: Proposing changes to data storage structures within blocks.
- EIP-6780: Removing code segments enabling smart contract cancellation.
