Ethereum devs have successfully deployed Denk on the Holesky testnet

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Following a successful test on the Holesky test network, Ethereum took a major step toward deploying its much-anticipated Denkun update to the blockchain's main network on Wednesday.

The experiment simulates a key Dunk feature called “proto-danksharding,” which aims to reduce transaction costs and make data storage cheaper. This was achieved by introducing “blobs”, a new distributed data structure.

With a smooth upgrade on the Holeski, Denkun cleared his final test run before going live. The update was deployed at 11:34 UTC and completed minutes later. Holesky is considered the strictest test environment for Ethereum updates.

Industry observers expect the update to hit the main network in late February or early March. This marks the most significant changes to Ethereum since Shapela in March 2023, which enabled users and verifiers to withdraw funds for held Ether.

Denkun represents the combination of two different modifications from the past – Cancun and Deneb. Cancun targets improvements to Ethereum's execution layer, which processes transactions, while Deneb focuses on improvements to the underlying consensus.

A core component of Denkun is proto-danksharding (EIP-4844), which introduces “blobs” to allow nodes to store and access large amounts of data off-chain. Such a system aims to significantly reduce storage requirements on the Ethereum network. Proto-danksharding is designed to significantly reduce transaction fees by facilitating more cost-effective data delivery and specifically leverages Ethereum-based Layer 2 blockchains for security.

Ethereum's last major update was released by Chapela in March 2023, which for the first time allowed users and validators to withdraw Ether deposited on the network with the new proof-of-stake model introduced in the 2022 merger.

Compared to Shapela, Denkun is seen as an optimization upgrade, but one that lays an important foundation for Ethereum's continued growth. Despite its importance, Denkun is considered a further step towards Ethereum's long-term vision of measurement and low fees. The improvements are intended to increase objectivity and reduce congestion on the blockchain by facilitating data availability.

The next two weeks Consensus layer meeting A meeting between Ethereum developers is scheduled for tomorrow, February 8 at 14:00 UTC. The meeting is expected to be closely watched when the date of the Denkun main network is decided.

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