An Analytical Look at EIP-1559 and EIP-3529
Ethereum has been the leading smart contract platform for several years, but it has struggled with issues such as slow transaction processing times and high fees during periods of network congestion. To address these issues, the Ethereum community has proposed several improvements, including EIP-1559 and EIP-3529. In this article, we will discuss these two proposals and how they could impact the Ethereum network.
EIP-1559: Improving the Transaction Fee Mechanism
One of the most significant issues with the Ethereum network is its transaction fee mechanism. Currently, users must bid for transaction inclusion by setting the gas price they are willing to pay. This has led to high fees during periods of network congestion, which can make using Ethereum expensive and inaccessible for many users.
EIP-1559 proposes a new transaction fee mechanism to improve the user experience and make the network more efficient. Under the proposed mechanism, users would pay a “base fee” that adjusts automatically based on network demand. This would help to reduce the fees paid by users during periods of network congestion, as the base fee would increase automatically to keep the network running smoothly.
In addition to the base fee, users would have the option to include a “tip” to miners to prioritize their transactions. This would incentivize miners to process transactions quickly and efficiently, while also allowing users to choose how much they want to pay for their transactions.
The implementation of EIP-1559 has been a significant upgrade for the Ethereum network. It was activated on the mainnet on August 5th, 2021, with the London hard fork, and since then, users have reported lower gas fees and improved transaction processing times.
EIP-3529: Reducing State Bloat
Another issue facing the Ethereum network is “state bloat,” which refers to the growing size of the blockchain due to the increasing number of smart contracts and other data stored on it. This can lead to slower transaction processing times and higher costs for nodes that store and validate the data.
EIP-3529 proposes a mechanism for reducing state bloat by “pruning” the state trie, which is a data structure used to store the current state of the Ethereum network. The proposed mechanism involves periodically removing older, inactive parts of the state trie to free up space on the blockchain.
The snapshot system would work by creating a new “checkpoint” at regular intervals, such as every 200,000 blocks. At each checkpoint, the current state of the network would be saved, and the older parts of the state trie that are no longer needed would be pruned. Nodes that store the blockchain would only need to store the most recent checkpoint, rather than the entire history of the state trie.
Conclusion
EIP-1559 and EIP-3529 are both improvements to the Ethereum network that address some of its most significant issues. EIP-1559 will lead to lower fees and improved transaction processing times. EIP-3529 will help to address the issue of state bloat and make the Ethereum network more efficient and scalable.
If you liked my story you can follow me for more interesting tips and tricks at Farasat Ali — Medium.
You can Find Me on LinkedIn and GitHub.
Also, Visit My Portfolio at:
You can also check out the following articles related to Web3 and Blockchain:
