Ethereum After EIP-4844: 82% Lower Costs for Rollups

Table of Links

Abstract and 1. Introduction

2. Background

   2.1 Rollup

   2.2 EIP-4844

   2.3 VAR(Vector Autoregression)

3. Data

   3.1 Consensus security data

   3.2 Ethereum usage data

   3.3 Rollup Transactions Data

   3.4 Blob gas fee data

4. Empirical Results

   4.1 Consensus security

   4.2 Ethereum usage

   4.3 Rollup transactions

   4.4 Blob gas fee market

5. Conclusion and References

A. Consensus Security Data

B. Rollup Data Collection

C. Detailed Var Model Results for Blob Gas Base Fee and Gas Fee

D. Detailed Var Model Results for Blob Gas Base Fee and Blob Gas Priority Fee

E. Rollup Transaction Dynamics

4.2 Ethereum usage

The effectiveness of EIP-4844 hinges on its primary objective: to enhance the efficiency of Ethereum as a DA layer for rollups. We performed a detailed examination of changes in Ethereum usage by the top 10 rollups following the implementation of EIP-4844. Our key findings include:

(1) The total data size posted by rollups on Ethereum as a DA layer has increased markedly, while the calldata size has decreased substantially. This shift is particularly pronounced in optimistic rollups compared to zk rollups.

(2) The total fees paid by rollups for DA have significantly decreased, alongside a considerable reduction in the cost per MiB of DA.

(3) There has been a significant reduction in the total gas used by rollups, primarily driven by decreased gas consumption in optimistic rollups.

4.2.1 Total amount of data posted. This section examines the total data size posted on Ethereum, focusing on its role as a DA layer. Our data include only transactions that commit batches or update states, specified in Appendix Table 10.

Figure 11a demonstrates a significant increase in the total data size posted, with the average data size per block rising from 0.084 MiB to 0.183 MiB, representing a 116.8% increase. Conversely, the size of calldata posted decreased by 56.8%, reducing to 0.036 MiB.

Figures 11b and 11c detail the changes in optimistic and zk rollups, respectively. Both types of rollups recorded substantial increases in total data size, each by over 100%. Optimistic rollups, in particular, demonstrated a significant reduction in calldata size by 81%, indicating a notable shift towards using blobs. Zk rollups showed a smaller decrease in calldata usage, from 0.035 MiB to 0.027 MiB.

These findings evidence that EIP-4844 has effectively encouraged rollups to make greater use of Ethereum’s DA layer capabilities. This is particularly evident in optimistic rollups, where the majority of transactions serve DA functions, possibly deriving more benefit from the protocol upgrade than zk rollups.

4.2.2 Total amount of fee paid. Exploring the economic impact, we reviewed the total fees paid by rollups for utilizing Ethereum as a DA layer. As indicated in the Table 1, the average fee paid by rollups per block experienced a substantial decrease following the implementation of EIP-4844. Prior to EIP-4844, rollups paid an average of 0.075 ETH per block. This fee reduced to 0.021 ETH per block after the policy change, marking a 72% decrease.

The fee reduction was particularly notable among optimistic rollups. Before EIP-4844, these rollups paid approximately 0.047 ETH per block, constituting about 63% of the total fee. Post EIP4844, their contribution dropped dramatically to 0.007 ETH per block, which represents a reduction to 33% of the total fees paid.

4.2.3 The price of posting 1MiB. In assessing the cost effectiveness of EIP-4844, we analyzed the price per MiB of data posted on Ethereum. As illustrated in Figure 12, the price per 1MiB before the implementation of EIP-4844 was approximately 1.304 ETH per block. Following the changes introduced by EIP-4844, this price significantly decreased to 0.231 ETH per block, representing an 82% reduction.

This substantial decrease underscores the effectiveness of EIP4844 in reducing the costs associated with DA on Ethereum, thereby lessening the economic burden on rollups that rely on Ethereum security for data posting[32]. This reduction in cost is pivotal for enhancing the scalability and economic feasibility of using Ethereum as a DA layer.

4.2.4 Gas used. To gauge the overall impact of EIP-4844 on gas consumption, we looked into the total gas used by rollups, including transactions not related to DA. Table 1 illustrates the changes in gas usage. Specifically, the average gas used per block significantly decreased by approximately 0.95 million, from 1.73 million to 0.78 million.

This reduction in gas usage was particularly pronounced in optimistic rollups, where gas consumption dropped by 0.71 million, from 0.88 million to 0.17 million. In contrast, ZK rollups exhibited a smaller decrease, with gas usage reducing by 0.23 million, from 0.85 million to 0.62 million. This modest decrease suggests that transactions involving zero-knowledge proofs, which cannot easily be converted to blob transactions, still use nearly the same amount of gas.