Ethereum's Fusaka Upgrade Deploys on Final Testnet, Paving Way for Enhanced Data Availability and L2 Scaling
Ethereum's Data Availability Evolution: Dencun's Impact and the Road to Full Danksharding
London, UK – November 6, 2025 – The Ethereum network continues its methodical journey toward enhanced scalability and efficiency, with data availability standing as a cornerstone of its long-term strategy. While recent community discussions have sometimes conflated future aspirations with immediate developments, it is crucial to delineate the current advancements from the long-term research and implementation roadmap. The Dencun upgrade, activated earlier this year, marked a significant leap forward, and the subsequent evolution of data availability, including concepts like Data Availability Sampling (DAS), remains a key focus for the network's future.
The Dencun upgrade, deployed in March 2024, introduced EIP-4844, also known as "proto-danksharding." This pivotal enhancement brought "blobs" to the Ethereum blockchain, providing a dedicated and cheaper data space specifically designed for Layer 2 (L2) transactions. Blobs are temporary, ephemeral data segments that allow L2 rollups to post transaction data to the Ethereum mainnet at a significantly reduced cost compared to traditional calldata, directly translating to lower transaction fees for end-users on these scaling solutions.
Contextualizing the Current State: Dencun's Success
The introduction of blobs via EIP-4844 has demonstrably impacted the operational dynamics of Ethereum's Layer 2 ecosystem. By providing a more efficient data channel, Dencun has successfully lowered the cost barrier for L2 transactions, fostering greater adoption and utility.
Ethereum Layer 2 Median Transaction Fees Post-Dencun
The utilization of this new data space has been robust, indicating strong demand from L2 networks. The total number of blobs posted to Ethereum since Dencun's activation underscores the efficiency and necessity of this dedicated data channel.
Total Blobs Posted to Ethereum After EIP-4844 Activation
https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/state-of-the-network-issue-262
The Future Vision: Full Danksharding and Data Availability Sampling (DAS)
While Dencun laid the groundwork, the ultimate goal for Ethereum's data availability strategy is "full Danksharding." This ambitious long-term vision aims to vastly increase the total available data space on Ethereum, enabling even greater throughput for Layer 2 solutions. A core component of full Danksharding is Data Availability Sampling (DAS).
DAS is a sophisticated cryptographic technique that allows light clients and nodes to verify that a large piece of data (like a blob) has been published and is available on the network, without needing to download the entire data segment. Instead, nodes can sample small, random portions of the data. If enough samples are successfully retrieved, it provides a high statistical probability that the entire data set is available.
Peer-to-Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS) represents a specific implementation of DAS, where this sampling mechanism is executed in a decentralized, peer-to-peer manner across the network. This distributed verification process offers several key advantages:
• Increased Throughput
• Reduced Resource Requirements
• Enhanced Security
It is important to clarify that full Danksharding and the activation of PeerDAS are currently in the research and design phases. They represent a significant future milestone on Ethereum's roadmap, requiring extensive development, testing, and multiple upgrades. These advancements are not part of an imminent upgrade or something that has completed final testnet deployment within the next few weeks. The next major upgrade after Dencun is anticipated to focus on Verkle Trees.
Implications for Investors and Builders
For technically-savvy investors and builders within the Ethereum ecosystem, understanding the distinction between current achievements and future roadmap items is critical. The successful deployment of Dencun and its immediate impact on L2 fees highlight Ethereum's commitment to scaling. The ongoing research and development into full Danksharding and DAS underscore a clear long-term strategy to further enhance data availability and throughput.
These foundational improvements, both already implemented and those on the horizon, are expected to:
• Further Reduce L2 Transaction Costs
• Support Greater L2 Adoption
• Strengthen Ethereum's Scaling Narrative
Ethereum's evolution is a continuous process of incremental upgrades and ambitious long-term research. While the immediate focus remains on optimizing the existing infrastructure and preparing for the next set of targeted improvements (like Verkle Trees), the vision for full Danksharding and advanced data availability mechanisms like DAS remains a powerful driver for the network's future scalability and robustness.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Readers should conduct their own research before making any investment decisions.
