4844

What Is 4844?

4844 refers to Ethereum’s protocol upgrade proposal EIP-4844, commonly known as Proto-Danksharding. This upgrade introduces a new transaction format capable of carrying “large attachments” (blobs) and establishes a separate fee market for these attachments, enabling rollups to publish data at a significantly lower cost.

From a user’s perspective, the immediate impact of 4844 is that Layer 2 networks (such as leading rollups) can publish data more cheaply, resulting in lower and more stable L2 transaction fees in most cases. Technically, it serves as a critical transition toward full sharding on Ethereum.

Why Was 4844 Introduced?

EIP-4844 was designed to address the high data publishing costs faced by rollups. Rollups operate like “batch shipping”—they bundle many transactions together and submit a summary plus necessary data to Ethereum, ensuring security and verifiability.

Previously, most rollup data was published via “calldata,” which meant the content was permanently stored on-chain. While this approach is secure, it comes with high costs. As user activity increased, rollups incurred significant expenses to maintain “data availability”—ensuring anyone can access raw data for verification. This drove up L2 transaction fees for users. EIP-4844 alleviates this bottleneck by introducing a dedicated “data channel.”

How Does 4844 Work?

The core innovation of 4844 lies in “blob-carrying transactions” and an independent blob fee market. Transactions can now include large data blocks called blobs. These blobs are not written into EVM-readable storage; instead, a cryptographic commitment (KZG commitment) is recorded on-chain, which allows the network to verify the data’s integrity.

Blobs are retained by the network for a limited window (approximately 18 days), during which any node can access the original data for verification. The blob fee is separated from standard gas fees and follows a dynamic pricing mechanism similar to EIP-1559, allowing blob prices to fluctuate with supply and demand without crowding out contract execution gas capacity.

What Is a Blob in 4844?

Think of a blob as a “large email attachment”: the message body contains only a fingerprint (commitment), while the large attachment is sent through a cheaper, dedicated channel. As long as the fingerprint matches, the system can prove the attachment’s integrity.

In 4844, blobs are not directly accessible by the EVM—they serve only as carriers for data availability and verifiability. Only the KZG commitment and essential metadata are stored on-chain. Network nodes are responsible for storing and propagating blobs during the retention period; after expiration, storage can be reclaimed to limit long-term state growth.

How Does 4844 Reduce Rollup Costs?

4844 reduces costs by moving “data availability” from expensive calldata to a cheaper, separately priced blob channel. This independent fee track prevents resource contention with contract execution and improves fee predictability.

After the Dencun upgrade, industry monitoring shows that most rollups have seen user fees drop to the “cent-level or below” range under normal conditions. As of 2025, fees still fluctuate with network demand, but overall levels are lower and peaks more manageable compared to pre-upgrade structures.

What Does 4844 Mean for Regular Users?

Most users do not need to take any additional action: simply using your regular wallet and Layer 2 networks lets you benefit from lower fees enabled by reduced data publishing costs.

On exchanges like Gate, when depositing or withdrawing via supported Layer 2 networks, users typically see lower on-chain network fees. Note that exchange service fees and on-chain miner (network) fees are separate charges; actual costs depend on what is displayed on the interface and will vary based on network congestion.

How Do Developers and Projects Use 4844?

For users:

1. Select your desired rollup and switch your wallet to the appropriate network; monitor real-time fee dashboards to avoid congestion.
2. On Gate, choose the deposit or withdrawal channel for your preferred Layer 2 network; confirm the network fee and estimated processing time.
3. Perform a small test transaction to verify the recipient address and fee before proceeding with full transfers; be mindful of risks with cross-chain bridges and smart contracts.

For developers and project teams:

1. Ensure your chosen rollup or custom sequencer supports blob publishing per 4844 and upgrade relevant client versions.
2. Switch settlement and batch publishing modules to use blob-carrying transactions; monitor blob fee markets and set appropriate fee policies and retry logic.
3. Establish data availability monitoring to ensure you can reconstruct and verify batches within the blob retention window; maintain redundant backups or mirrored distribution for critical data.

What Are the Risks and Limitations of 4844?

1. Blobs offer “temporary storage” only—after the retention period, blobs are no longer preserved by the network. Applications requiring long-term access must use external storage solutions.
2. The EVM cannot read blob contents directly; design must follow the paradigm of “on-chain commitment, off-chain data,” requiring updated development models.
3. Fees may still fluctuate—during periods of extreme congestion, blob prices can rise; low costs are not guaranteed.
4. Cross-chain and rollup ecosystems involve smart contract and operational risks. Always use official channels for deposits, withdrawals, and bridging; diversify funds and perform small test transactions for risk management.

How Does 4844 Compare to Other Approaches?

Compared to continuing with calldata, blobs in 4844 are cheaper and do not cause permanent state bloat, but cannot be directly read by the EVM—application architecture may need adjustment.

Compared to external data availability layers (such as dedicated DA networks), 4844 anchors availability within Ethereum’s consensus, maintaining trust assumptions closer to Layer 1. External DA may offer lower costs or greater flexibility but introduces additional trust and operational complexity. Projects can choose based on security versus cost preferences or even adopt “pluggable” multi-DA strategies.

What’s Next After 4844?

EIP-4844 serves as a stepping stone toward full Danksharding. Future directions include increasing the number of blobs per block, improving fee stability and network propagation performance, and further optimizing batch publishing and compression techniques on L2.

By 2025, the rollup ecosystem continues expanding, with more applications adopting fine-grained structures where “hot data uses blobs while cold data goes to external storage.” This demand-driven stratification of costs and performance has become mainstream engineering practice.

Why Does 4844 Matter?

EIP-4844 implements the approach of “security anchored on Ethereum with data through specialized channels,” delivering tangible cost reductions and more predictable fee curves for rollups while laying the groundwork for future sharding scalability. For users, it brings experiences closer to web-like smoothness and low cost; for developers and teams, it requires embracing the new paradigm of “on-chain commitment, off-chain data,” along with robust monitoring, storage, and fee management strategies. While enjoying lower fees, it remains essential to manage risks around fee volatility and smart contract security—diversifying funds and testing with small amounts should always be part of sound risk management.

FAQ

What Is the Size Limit for Blobs in EIP-4844?

Each blob is approximately 125KB in size, with a maximum of six blobs per block. This design balances data capacity against node storage pressure—blob data is automatically purged after about 18 days, eliminating permanent storage requirements. This provides rollups with ample cheap data space without overburdening Ethereum nodes.

How Much Will Layer 2 Transaction Fees Decrease After 4844?

Based on real-world operation data, rollup transaction fees typically decrease by 10–100x depending on rollup design and network usage. When multiple rollups share blob space, cost benefits become even more pronounced as expenses are distributed across more users. Leading rollups such as Arbitrum and Optimism have already integrated 4844—users can immediately feel substantial cost savings.

Why Don’t Blob Data Need Permanent Storage Like Regular Transaction Data?

Blobs use a temporary storage model—data is kept for around 18 days (one epoch), after which it is automatically deleted. The purpose of rollups is merely to record transaction history for verification—not to store all raw data indefinitely. This dramatically reduces validator node storage requirements, making it easier for more users to run full nodes and enhancing decentralization.

Which Use Cases Benefit Most from 4844?

Payment applications, DEXs, and cross-chain bridges gain the greatest advantage from EIP-4844 due to their high transaction volumes and sensitivity to fees. The more congested or active a rollup is, the more pronounced the savings from using blobs become. Especially in ecosystems with heavy daily volumes (such as Arbitrum or Optimism), users experience fees dropping from several cents to fractions of a cent.

What Must Regular Users Do to Enjoy the Benefits of 4844?

No special action is required—simply continue using supported rollups (such as Gate’s recommended leading Layer 2s) to automatically enjoy lower fees enabled by EIP-4844. Wallets, exchanges, and Dapps will adopt new fee calculation methods transparently; users can interact as usual without needing to learn new concepts or change usage habits.