Ethereum Cat Herders Update #55
Dencun Upgrade — EIPs, Devnet 8 / 9, Testing Overview, Other Client Dev meeting, EIP-7495, EIP-5069, PEEPanEIP, EIPs Insight, ECH initiatives, Public Goods Funding and Other Community updates!
It’s been a while since we last connected through the Ethereum Cat Herders Newsletter, however, our commitment to delivering valuable insights, exciting updates, and engaging content has never wavered. We’re thrilled to be back in your inbox!
Let’s take a quick read into the Ethereum Protocol & Research update, EIPs, Cat Herder’s initiative, and what happened in the Ethereum ecosystem since the last update.
Summary
- Dencun Upgrade — Devnet 9 to be launched next week, Dencun Testing Overview, PEEPanEIP
- Other Client Dev Meetings — ACDC, ACDE, Execution layer P2P, EOF Implementers, Verkle Implementers
- EIPs updates — EIP-7495, EIP-7329, EIP-5069, EIP Editing Office Hour, PEEPanEIP, EIPs Insight
- ECH initiatives — Ecosystem Project Demo, Meet The Herders
- Public Goods Funding — ENS, Octant, Gitcoin Grant
- Other Community updates.
Dencun Upgrade
Deneb on the Consensus Layer and Cancun on the Execution Layer, together known as Dencun, is the next planned upgrade on the Ethereum blockchain. EIPs are selected, clients have implemented, and are currently on the Devnet 8 (Developers testnet).
Dencun Devnet
Devnet 1–7 were more focused on EIP-4844. However, Devnet-8 was supposed to be a feature-complete developers’ testnet. All clients except Reth are participating in devnet.
As per devnet 8 specs, Pull Requests included are
- Consensus Specs — v1.4.0-beta.1
- Execution EIPs
- Engine API
- Beacon API — v2.4.2
In the last ACDC call, the protocol testing team, Parithosh, Barnabus, and Mario indicated the planned launch of Devnet 9, Tuesday, 19th September 2023.
Devnet explorers available are:
Dencun Testing Overview
To understand the various testing approaches and bases they are covering, we highly recommend watching the PEEPanEIP- Dencun Testing with Pari, Mario, Barnabus
In addition to that, the team released a Dencun testing overview, a document created to help comprehend the various parts that will be changed and the corresponding tests required across the EL/CL.
- Sync testing is being run by Nethermind
- Chaos testing is WIP will be completed by the end of this month.
- MEV-related test — Issue with Capella genesis. As of yesterday, it has been fixed. CL side tested mock MEV workflow.
If interested in learning more, please follow Dencun Interop Testing Call 30 here.
Other Client Dev meetings
- ACDC Meeting 117
- ACDE Meeting 169
- Execution layer P2P — TBA
- EOF Implementers Meeting 22
- Verkle Implementers — TBA
EIPs updates
EIP-7495: SSZ StableContainer
Having a unified structure for data storage and transmitting over the EL & CL is something that Ethereum devs are striving for. In early January, Etan Kissling, a developer at Nimbus proposed a solution to use SSZ on both layers. His latest proposal EIP-7495 will introduce a new Simple Serialize (SSZ) type to represent StableContainer[N] values.
Though it is late to include any EIP for Deneb, this proposal was discussed at length for inclusion at the last ACDC meeting. A decision may be expected on the ACDC call on 14th September.
EIP Governance
EIP-7329: ERC/EIP Repository split
After years-long discussion, the wait for the EIP-ERC repo split is almost over. Following past EIPIP meetings, you may know that EIP editors came to a rough consensus of splitting the repo.
As per the decision, a Meta EIP-7329: ERC/EIP Repository split has been documented by Matt Garnett and Danno Ferrin. Currently in the Last Call , the EIP describes the motivation and rationale for splitting the EIP repositories into an EIP repository, targeting core Ethereum changes and an ERC repository, targeting application layer specifications.
EIP-5069: EIP Editor Handbook
Sam Wilson, one of the EIP editors, proposed the Ethereum Improvement Proposal Charter to outline the governance and the role of EIP Editors in the process. A big portion of the proposal is now added to EIP-5069: EIP Editor Handbook, another Meta EIP addition to the EIP repository.
PEEPanEIP
In the past few months, we reached out to multiple Ethereum developers and EIP authors to create resources for the Dencun upgrade. We’re happy to share the PEEPanEIP Playlist and EIPs that are selected for the upgrade. For the first time, the Ethereum upgrade includes Consensus Layer EIPs.
- PEEPanEIP: Dencun Testing with Parithosh, Mario, Barnabas
- PEEPanEIP: Keeping up with Deneb Specification with Gajinder Singh
- PEEPanEIP-1153: Transient storage opcodes with Moody Salem
- PEEPanEIP-4844: Shard Blob Transactions with Terence
- PEEPanEIP-7044: Perpetually Valid Signed Voluntary Exits with dappLion
- PEEPanEIP-7045: Increase max attestation inclusion slot with Danny Ryan
- PEEPanEIP-6780: SELFDESTRUCT only in same transaction with Guillaume Ballet
- EIP-4788: Beacon block root in the EVM with Alex Stokes
- EIP-5656: MCOPY — Memory copying instruction [TBA]
EIP Editing Office Hour
If you’re an author willing to document your EIP and need help, the EIP Editing Office hour is the meeting that you’d like to attend. EIP editor Sam Wilson takes time to review the proposals and respond to authors' queries to help move the proposal towards Final status.
Should you have a pull request to discuss with the EIP Editor, drop the link to the Agenda and join the next office hour. The join link will be available on EthCatHerders Discord.
EIPs Insight
In Sep 2023, EIPs repository received 3 Final, 8 Draft proposals, 5 in Last Call 4 in Review and 1 Stagnant EIPs. Check the full report here.
ECH initiatives
Ecosystem Project Demo
Extending our support to Ethereum staking and application devs, we are inviting ecosystem projects to demo for the Ethereum Community. We begin the series with a project by Staders Labs to provide an opportunity for the Ethereum community to be able to join ETHStaking with less than 32 ETH. Check out the conversation with Anoothi Kumar, Stader Labs: Ecosystem Project Demo #1
Meet The Herders
Ever wondered what goes into coordinating upgrades to Ethereum; a multibillion-dollar decentralized network?
In this new interview series, we’ll meet the Ethereum Cat Hearders who behind the scenes orchestrate this remarkable feat; by aligning multiple teams, documenting every step, and ensuring the community remains well-informed. In this series, we hear their stories, experiences & insights into the Ethereum community. Stay tuned for the release soon!
Public Goods Funding
We can not thank enough the Ethereum ecosystem to keep us afloat with Public Goods Funding. In Q2-Q3, we received grants from different organizations.
ENS
The ENS Large Grants process has been experimental to create a pathway to fund Public Goods demonstrating exceptional usefulness and impact in the Ethereum ecosystem.
In Q2, four recipients were chosen to receive the 50k USDC grant. All of these projects have provided exceptional usefulness and impact on the Ethereum or Web3 ecosystems. Excited to share that Ethereum Cat Herders was one of the four recipients.
Octant Epoch Zero
Back in June, the project Octant announced Epoch Zero: a special pre-launch event for experiments in decentralized governance which is funded and developed by the Golem Foundation.
Based on a community poll, the results of Epoch Zero were announced. Together, the project distributed $1M worth of ETH among 10 high-impact web3 public goods projects with an excellent track record including Ethereum Cat Herders as one of the grant recipients.
Gitcoin Grant 18
Ethereum Cat Herders also participated in Round 18 and received community support.
As we’re close to the end of Q3, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support. Your trust in us is what keeps Ethereum Cat Herders alive and thriving. Whether you’ve been with us from the beginning or are just joining our community, we want you to know that you’re a vital part of what we do. 🙏
Other Community updates
Ethereum Execution Layer Specification
After more than a year in development, the Ethereum Execution Layer Specification (affectionately known as EELS) is announced. EELS is a Python reference implementation of the core components of an Ethereum execution client focused on readability and clarity.
Intended as a spiritual successor to the Yellow Paper that’s more programmer-friendly and up-to-date with post-merge forks, EELS can fill and execute state tests, follow mainnet1, and is a great place to prototype new EIPs.
KZG Ceremony Special Contributions
The Special Contribution Period for the KZG Ceremony allowed participants to contribute in ways that may not have been possible in the Open Contribution period. While the Ceremony only needs a single honest participant to provide a secure output, Special Contributions provide additional assurances beyond a standard entropy contribution.
- Share your ❤️ with EthCatHerders.eth.
- Join the decentralized project management team by submitting the ECH onboarding form and at ECH Discord.
- Follow the Ethereum Cat Herders on Website, GitHub, Twitter, Medium, and YouTube.
Share your questions, comments, and suggestions with me on Twitter. Thank you for reading 🙏.
— The Ethereum Cat Herders
