The 95% Ethereum Layer 2 Fee Drop Changed Everything - But Can It Last?

The implementation of the Dencun upgrade in March 2024, which activated EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding), has modified the cost structure of second-layer networks. Transaction fees on major rollups have decreased between 90% and 95%, establishing a new pricing paradigm. This structural shift, however, introduces a set of economic and technical that determine its future viability.

Mechanism of Cost Reduction: The Blob Space

The technical foundation of this reduction resides in the creation of a temporary and dedicated data space for rollups, denominated “blobs.” Previously, L2 networks published their transaction data to Ethereum’s main layer using calldata, a method that competed for block space with the rest of the network’s transactions.

EIP-4844 establishes an independent fee market for blobs, analogous to the EIP-1559 mechanism, where the price is determined by the supply and demand of this specific space. This segregation reduces the L2s’ dependency on base layer congestion. The architecture of type-3 transactions (blob-carrying) allows rollups to publish their data at a substantially lower marginal cost.

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