Ethereum All Core Developers Execution Call #198 Writeup
On October 10, 2024, Ethereum protocol developers met virtually over Zoom for All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) Call #198. This week, the call was chaired by Ethereum Foundation (EF) Protocol Support Lead Tim Beiko. The ACDE calls are a bi-weekly meeting series where developers discuss and coordinate changes to the execution layer (EL) of Ethereum.
On ACDE #198, developers shared updates on their progress for launching Pectra Devnet 4. They also discussed the potential inclusion of two new EIPs in Pectra, EIP 7782 and 7783. The former proposes a reduction in slot time from 12 to 8 seconds, while the other proposes a new mechanism for increasing the block gas limit. Both are aimed at increasing the scalability of Ethereum. Developers did not reach a decision about the inclusion of either in Pectra or a future upgrade.
Pectra Devnet 4 Preparations
Beiko kicked off the call with a reminder that the deadline to submit proposals for the audit of Pectra system contracts is Friday, October 11. He encouraged companies interested in doing the audit to email their proposals to [email protected]. The accepted proposals will be confirmed by October 22, 2024, at the latest.
Developers have not yet launched Pectra Devnet 4. They discussed the following open issues related to the devnet launch on this week’s call:
Beacon API, PR #472: Developers decided to omit this code change from Devnet 4 to allow time for more discussion.
Execution API, PR #575: Developers decided to omit this code change from Devnet 4 to allow time for more discussion.
Consensus Specs, PR#3900: Developers decided to omit this code change from Devnet 4 to allow time for more discussion.
EIP 6110 Update, PR #8949: Developers decided to include this code change in Devnet 4.
BLS precompile repricing: Developers decided to omit this code change from Devnet 4 to allow time for more discussion.
Ethereum Foundation Developer Operations Engineer Barnabas Busa shared a quick status update about Pectra Devnet 3. The devnet stopped finalizing due to issues with the Geth client. Busa said that his team is deploying a new version of Geth to restabilize the network.
Beiko asked about the readiness of client teams for the launch of Pectra Devnet 4. Developers agreed to try to launch the devnet before next Thursday’s All Core Developers Consensus (ACDC) call on October 17, 2024. Developers also agreed to schedule a separate breakout meeting after the Monday testing call on October 14, 2024, to further discuss the topic of BLS precompile repricing.
Public Pectra Testnet for Devcon
As raised on ACDC #143, developers are aiming to launch a public Pectra testnet in time for the annual Ethereum developer conference, Devcon. They are considering names for the testnet. A few naming proposals that have already been made by community members include MooDeng and Khlong. The discussion forum for naming the testnet can be found here.
Beiko said that it would be ideal for developers to include any changes to BLS precompile addresses in the public Pectra testnet for the benefit of application developers that want to test the use of BLS signatures in their apps. However, these changes may not be ready for inclusion by the time of Devcon 2024. Beiko said that developers should focus on getting a stable version of Pectra Devnet 4 running first.
EIP Discussions
EF Researcher Toni Wahrstätter gave an update on EIP 7623, which proposes an increase to the cost of calldata. Developers are considering the inclusion of this EIP in Pectra. Wahrstätter shared updates to the EIP and asked about client teams progress for implementing the changes. Geth developer Marius van der Wijden said that he has not yet implemented the EIP.
Erigon developer Giulio Rebuffo presented EIP 7783, which creates a mechanism for client teams to gradually increase the gas target over time. The EIP does not require a hard fork to implement. Beiko noted that EIP 7783 could be implemented by client teams shortly after the activation of Pectra. Prysm developer “Potuz” and Lodestar developer Gajinder Singh both expressed their support for the EIP.
Rebuffo’s proposal was created in response to another EIP, EIP 7782, proposed by Nethermind developer Ben Adams. EIP 7782 proposes reducing Ethereum slot times from 12 to 8 seconds in an effort to increase transaction and blob throughput. The proposal raised concerns among certain developers about its potential impact on the rate of state growth. Developers also briefly discussed the concern that changing slot times may break certain smart contracts that have hard coded 12 second slot times into their operations.
Developers did not reach a decision about the inclusion of any new EIPs in Pectra. They agreed to continue discussing the merits of these EIPs asynchronously from the ACD calls.
Miscellaneous Discussions
EF Researcher Alex Stokes requested feedback about how to structure execution layer triggerable requests in the Builder API.
Beiko highlighted community-led efforts to create more rigorous definitions and benchmarks for solo staking bandwidth requirements.
Finally, client teams shared updates on their progress at implementing EIP 4444, history expiry. A representative from the Nethermind team said that they are making good progress on their integrations with the Portal Network and that they would be able to devote more resources to this project after their work on Pectra.
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