EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding)

EIP-4844 activated with Dencun on 13 March 2024. Blobs carry large amounts of data that the EVM cannot access directly; blocks retain KZG cryptographic commitments, while the network keeps the data for a limited period. That expiry prevents every validator from storing rollup data availability forever.

Before blobs, Layer 2 networks published batches as calldata and competed for the same block space and gas market as execution transactions. EIP-4844 separated those resources: rollup data demand moved to a dedicated fee market, so its cost no longer tracks every spike in base-layer activity directly.

Proto-danksharding describes the intermediate step, not the final scaling design. The proposal added the transaction format and verification needed for blobs without yet implementing the full data capacity envisioned for danksharding.