A major Ethereum upgrade known as the Cancun update is around the corner. This significant upgrade is expected to introduce far-reaching modifications to the blockchain network's structure. The core developers of Ethereum have recently convened to discuss and coordinate the implementation of a slew of Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) which are fundamental to the impending upgrade.
The focus of the developers' recent discussion was a deep-dive into the impacts of EIPs 4758 and 6780. These EIPs propose substantial alterations to the 'self-destruct' function on Ethereum. This function currently allows for the total transfer of ETH from one address to another without executing any recipient-side code. EIP 4758 recommends renaming this function to "sendall" and eliminating its ability to reset values and erase bytecode. On the other hand, EIP 6780 adds conditions to curtail its impacts.
While these changes could potentially disrupt some decentralized applications (dApps) currently operating on Ethereum, the consensus among developers is that most dApps can be upgraded to accommodate the new logic. The developers also contemplated introducing a new instruction, "setcode," to maintain the ability to amend code in smart contracts. Progress on EIP 4844, a vital part of the upgrade, was also reviewed. This proposal aims to revamp the Ethereum transaction process with the objective of enhancing efficiency and reducing costs. The developers agreed to include an amendment to block validity rules into EIP 4844, which specifies the maximum number of "blobs" per block.
In addition to these pivotal proposals, the Cancun upgrade is also slated to incorporate EIPs 4844, 6780, and 1153. Other EIPs under consideration include EIPs 5920, 5656, 7069, 4788, and 2530. These proposals cover a wide array of improvements, from introducing a new "pay" opcode (EIP 5920), to enhancing memory copying efficiency (EIP 5656), revamping Ethereum call instructions (EIP 7069), and providing direct access to the execution state through the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM; EIP 4788). With these prospective upgrades, Ethereum's future certainly seems brighter.
