Scalability has always been Ethereum’s main challenge. As its popularity and usage grew, the network struggled to process higher volumes of transactions efficiently. 

Danksharding aims to resolve this shortcoming. In essence, it refines the concept of "sharding," where a blockchain is divided into smaller, more manageable segments, to enhance transaction speeds and reduce costs.   

Let’s unpack how danksharding works and how it benefits Ethereum.

Understanding Sharding 

First, we need to understand some core concepts. Sharding is a technique used in blockchain technology to divide the network into smaller, more manageable segments called "shards." 

Instead of processing all transactions on a single blockchain, each shard operates independently, handling a subset of the overall workload. This parallel processing enables the network to process transactions concurrently, significantly increasing overall transaction throughput.

How Does Danksharding Work?

Danksharding builds upon this idea but introduces several innovative mechanisms:

• Data Availability Sampling: To ensure data integrity without the need to verify every piece of data, danksharding employs a technique called "data availability sampling." This involves randomly selecting and verifying small portions of the data. If these samples are available, it strongly suggests that the entire dataset is also accessible, reducing the computational burden on each shard.
• Blob-Carrying Transactions: In "blob-carrying transactions," data is divided into smaller units called "blobs" and included within transactions. This efficient data packaging reduces the overall size of transactions, improving efficiency and lowering costs.
• Proposer-Builder Separation: In traditional blockchains, a single entity is responsible for both proposing the structure of a block and selecting the transactions to include. Danksharding separates these roles, allowing specialized entities called "proposers" to propose block structures and "builders" to select and order the most relevant transactions for inclusion. 

Thanks to these novel mechanisms, danksharding reduces computational overhead and improves security compared to usual sharding. 

Danksharding in Ethereum 

Danksharding is part of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade called Dencun, which was rolled out in March 2024 and is essential for achieving true scalability on the network. This involves a series of protocol upgrades, with Proto-Danksharding serving as an interim step. 

Unlike traditional sharding, which aimed to divide Ethereum into multiple "shard chains," danksharding focuses on improving data availability and efficiency for rollups. Rollups are Layer-2 scaling solutions that process transactions off-chain and submit only the necessary data to the Ethereum mainnet.

The overarching goal is to significantly lower transaction costs for users on Layer-2 solutions and enable Ethereum to process over 100,000 transactions per second (currently, it processes around 30 TPS).

It’s worth noting that while danksharding may increase decentralization by reducing hardware requirements for nodes, it also raises concerns about increased reliance on layer-2 providers.

Conclusion 

The integration of danksharding into Ethereum 2.0 demonstrates the network's dedication to innovation. Every Ethereum user and crypto enthusiast should be aware of this development that could change what blockchain is capable of in the future.