- Ethereum’s development took key steps with the ERC and EIP split.
- Developments also discussed the Dencun upgrade.
As ETH’s prices soared alongside the broader crypto market, the Ethereum [ETH] development team continued to work on the network.
Is your portfolio green? Check out the ETH Profit Calculator
This ongoing development amidst a bullish market was a notable indication of Ethereum’s commitment to staying at the forefront of the blockchain space.
The Split is complete
One of the most important developments in the Ethereum ecosystem was the completion of the separation between Ethereum Request for Comment (ERC) and Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP). This split was a significant milestone after years of discussions.
The aim of this separation was to provide standardized and high-quality documentation for the Ethereum application layer. By distinguishing ERC from EIP, Ethereum could create a clear track record of both past and ongoing improvements to application standards.
Meanwhile, the core EIP played a huge role in enhancing the Ethereum consensus protocol.
Insights from ACDC Call
Recently, Ethereum developers convened for their regular bi-weekly meeting known as ACDC Call. These meetings serve as a crucial platform for discussing a wide range of topics related to Ethereum’s technical development.
During this particular meeting, several important topics were on the agenda. This included the discussion of the recent launch of Devnet-10, an essential part of Ethereum’s development process.
Devnet-10 was designed to allow the testing of the Dencun upgrade. A key highlight was the involvement of 330,000 active validators in this test network, making it an important milestone for Ethereum’s technical growth.
However, like any complex technological endeavor, Devnet-10 was not without its initial issues. Notably, both the Prysm and Teku clients encountered challenges, but the development team successfully resolved these problems.
The meeting also covered crucial tests on Miner Extractable Value (MEV) workflows with the Lodestar client, where certain issues were identified and addressed.
One of the highlights of the meeting was the discussion around blob latency analysis in Devnet-10. Developers scrutinized how data blobs were processed and transmitted within this test network.
While the analysis confirmed trends observed in previous tests, it was clear that further examination and testing were necessary before implementing these changes in public Ethereum test networks.
Additionally, there was an extensive discussion about stabilizing client releases and intensifying testing on the MEV builder and relay components. The goal was to ensure that these elements were robust before moving on to public testnet launches for Dencun.
In light of Devnet-10’s shutdown, developers planned to launch Devnet-11, which would involve fewer validators.
Dencun upgrade and activation
The Dencun upgrade, a significant step in Ethereum’s ongoing evolution, received huge attention during the ACDC Call #173 meeting. The development team outlined their plans for preparing and activating this upgrade.
In preparation for Dencun, developers decided to launch Devnet-11, a test network designed to facilitate testing of various features. These included testing the MEV workflow and a rollup implementation.
To ensure these features would work seamlessly, it was important to have stable client releases on Devnet-11.
The timing of these steps was discussed, and an activation date for Dencun on the Goerli testnet was suggested.
However, it became apparent that due to ongoing changes in the Prysm client software and an upcoming developer conference, the earliest possible activation of Dencun would be in late November.
There was also the possibility that the mainnet activation of Dencun could be postponed until early 2024.
Market impact and Ethereum’s performance
Despite these significant technical developments, the impact on Ethereum’s market performance remained uncertain. At the time of writing, Ethereum was trading at $1780, after surging materially over the last few days.
Realistic or not, here’s ETH’s market cap in BTC’s terms
However, a large decrease in network growth over a few days was observed. This suggested that new addresses may be losing interest in ETH as its price grew.
Additionally, the velocity of ETH fell during this period. This suggested that the number of times ETH was trading had declined.
Source: Santiment
