Ethereum Developers Discuss EIP Impact Analysis

Tim Beiko, the Chair of the Ethereum Foundation, proposed a limitation on the scope of the Ethereum Cancun upgrade during the All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) call. The suggested scope includes five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs): EIP 5920, 5656, 7069, 4788, and 2530. According to Beiko, the upgrade is expected to be at least “5-6 months away” based on its current scope.

During the ACDE call, developers discussed various topics, including the impact analysis of EIPs 4758 and 6780 on self-destruct removal. Neville Grech, Director of Dedaub, presented the impact analysis results. Dedaub assessed the usage of the self-destruct opcode by dapp developers and MEV searchers. The analysis concluded that the impact of EIPs 4758 and 6780 is manageable. As EIP 6780 is less disruptive to existing applications.

The self-destruct opcode allows the transfer of ETH from one address to another without executing any code associated with the beneficiary address. EIP 4758 renames the opcode to “sendall” and removes certain functionalities. While EIP 6780 adds conditions to preserve the opcode’s functionality during smart contract creation. The impact analysis revealed that self-destruct is frequently used in conjunction with creating short-lived smart contracts.

Ethereum Dev Proposal for New Instruction: “setcode”

However, an Ethereum developer, William Morriss, raised concerns. According to him, the impact analysis not considering the usage pattern of self-destruct by MEV searchers and DEX traders. Morriss emphasized the importance of code replacement for competitive transactions. Additionally, proposed a new instruction called “setcode” to preserve this capability.

Developers also discussed the progress on EIP 4844, proto-danksharding, which aims to improve Ethereum’s gas pricing mechanism. They reviewed proposals for aligning gas pricing information and specifying the maximum number of blobs per block. They also discussed preparations for the next testnet, Devnet #6, and proposed cleanups to transaction network payload references.

Furthermore, developers addressed the decision to remove SSZ serialization formats from the EL implementation of proto-danksharding. This led to the recommendation of removing the SSZ-related EIPs, 6475 and 6493 from the proposed EIPs for the Cancun upgrade.

Danno Ferrin presented a document listing proposed EIP opcodes for the Cancun and Prague hard fork upgrades. The document outlined opcode names, descriptions, and allocation methodology. Different opinions on the feasibility and testing requirements of each EIP’s inclusion in the Cancun upgrade were discussed.

Tim Beiko suggests revisiting the conversation on the Cancun upgrade scope, given the time limitations. Also, asserts limiting future expansions to the five proposed EIPs. The activation of Cancun was estimated to occur around October 2023, indicating that the upgrade is still several months away based on the current scope.