Ethereum builders have tentatively selected Jan. 17, 2024, for the upcoming “Dencun” improve’s first testnet deployment through the newest bi-weekly dev assembly on Dec. 21.

Initially slated for the final quarter of 2023, the ‘Dencun improve was pushed to 2024 because of the engineering complexities concerned.

Tim Beiko, the protocol help lead on the Ethereum Basis, famous that the date will not be set in stone and will change if main points come up. The group goals to launch a weblog put up detailing the fork through the week of Jan. 8, 2024 — giving stakeholders every week to organize for the replace.

Dencun improve timeline

The assembly set out a draft timeline for the testing section of the Dencun improve.

Following the Goerli testnet on Jan. 17, 2024, builders plan to run checks on different networks — Sepolia on Jan. 31, 2024, and Holesky on Feb. 7, 2024.

The builders intention to deploy the modifications on the mainnet by the tip of February 2024 if all the things goes easily. Nonetheless, these dates are topic to vary primarily based on the outcomes of the testnet forks.

Dencun might be Ethereum’s first main improve since ‘Shapella’ earlier this 12 months, which was a big milestone in itself, enabling staked ether (ETH) withdrawals from the blockchain.

Equally, a significant facet of the Dencun improve is the implementation of “proto-danksharding.” This new course of is designed to reinforce Ethereum’s capability for information storage, a transfer that’s anticipated to cut back charges for Layer 2 rollups and scale the blockchain by growing area for “blobs” of information.

By enhancing information dealing with capabilities and effectivity, it goals to reinforce the efficiency of rollups and, consequently, the general throughput and affordability of the Ethereum community.

“Layer 3 app-chains”

Along with the Dencun improve, the assembly additionally highlighted a collaboration between Avail and StarkWare. The partnership goals to enhance information availability for appchains inside the Starknet Layer 2 community. Leveraging Madara, a customizable sequencer, this initiative seeks to develop app-chains that may operate as Layer 3 options inside the Starknet ecosystem.

These Layer 3 app-chains, powered by the mixed efforts of Avail and StarkWare, intention to revolutionize information availability modes, together with validium and sovereign rollups. This, in flip, will assist optimize transaction processing effectivity and finality, which is essential for blockchain scalability.

The builders additionally touched upon Ethereum’s function within the broader context of decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain expertise. They reiterated their dedication to sustaining Ethereum’s place as a pacesetter within the area, emphasizing the necessity for steady innovation and adaptation to satisfy the ever-evolving calls for of the market.

The assembly additionally offered a platform for builders to debate the challenges and alternatives that lie forward for Ethereum. From addressing community congestion points to enhancing person expertise, the builders explored a spread of subjects which can be vital to Ethereum’s roadmap and its customers’ wants.