According to galaxy.com, on September 26, 2024, Ethereum protocol developers gathered virtually for All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) Call #197, chaired by Tim Beiko, Director of Protocol Support at the Ethereum Foundation (EF). The bi-weekly meetings focused on coordinating changes to Ethereum’s execution layer (EL).
Pectra upgrade and Devnet 3 update
Developers agreed to limit the scope of Pectra upgrades to the eight Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) currently in Devnet 3. They also considered adding four EIPs related to Ethereum’s Blob fee market later in the planning process.
EF Developer Operations Engineer Parithosh Jayanthi reported a fix for the Teku-Erigon bug in Pectra Devnet 3. However, issues such as Lighthouse state root mismatch and increased block propagation time during validator deposits are still being investigated.
The team created 100,000 deposits on Devnet 3 to test network capacity, which increased block propagation times. Teku developer Mikhail Kalinin is working on changes to the consensus layer (CL) specification to address this issue. Planning for Pectra Devnet 4 is underway and is targeted for release within two weeks.
Fusaka upgrades and future plans
For the next hard fork, Fusaka, Beiko has confirmed the inclusion of PeerDAS and EOF EIP. Other EIPs may be added as implementation of these two progresses further. Beiko also mentioned a new EIP for the upgrade after Osaka, nicknamed Amsterdam, which will continue EIPs such as Verkle, which were originally considered for Osaka.
BLS MSM Benchmark
Developers discussed BLS precompilation pricing adjustments in EIP 2537. Geth developer Jared Wasinger, with support from other developers, proposed a 20% cost increase. Beiko recommended that Devnet 4 include BLS pricing adjustments and requested that the benchmarking analysis be completed by the next ACDE call.
Make an execution request a sidecar
Kalinin proposed a generalized approach to requests arising from EL, such as validator withdrawals, which gained widespread support. This proposal simplifies the process requiring updates to EIP 6110, 7251, 7002, and 7685. Developers have agreed to prioritize these updates for Pectra Devnet 4.
Pectra Contract Audit RFP
EF is seeking a third-party audit of the smart contracts used in Pectra’s three EIPs. Bids must be submitted by October 11, 2024, and approved proposals must be confirmed by October 22, 2024.
Spectra Split
Developers discussed including increasing Pectra’s blob capacity. Vitalik Buterin and EF researcher Dankrad Feist supported increased scaling usage, but others noted a lack of data on the node performance impact. Beiko proposed limited scope for Pectra, deferring a decision on the blob-related EIP pending further investigation.
Teku developer Enrico del Fante and others have raised concerns about home stakers missing blocks after Dencun due to insufficient bandwidth. The developers agreed to collect more data on the Blob’s impact before making a final decision.
Beiko emphasized that finalizing the scope of Fusaka will have to wait until PeerDAS and EOF are fully implemented on the devnet. He also noted that Verkle is likely to be included in the upgrade after Fusaka, nicknamed Amsterdam.
Developers are aiming to release Pectra Devnet 4 before the next ACDE meeting within two weeks, with ongoing testing and discussions to finalize the scope of the upgrade.
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