Danksharding — The DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR SHARDING on ETH
crList, PBS. Yes, all that complex stuff will be simplified in this article.
crList, PBS. Yes, all that complex stuff will be simplified in this article.
Dankshardig is a new ETH concept most people don’t understand. In this article, we’ll have a deep dive into this Sharding design.
But first, we can’t talk about Dank Sharding without talking about Sharding.
Sharding
In computer science, sharding simply means splitting a database into smaller databases. This concept can be applied to blockchains too; in blockchain, Sharding means splitting a blockchain network into smaller portions, known as shards.
This tech is implemented to improve efficiency in a blockchain network — reduces fees, increases speed, and more space in a chain.
Sharing was proposed 6 years ago in the Ethereum ecosystem. It was brought about as a solution to help ETH scalability issues. For Ethereum to reach a shard state it has to pass through other phases — Dank Sharding for example is a phase it has to pass to hit its desired goal.
Danksharding
Danksharding was named after Ethereum researcher, Dankrad Feist. It’s the design proposal for sharding on ETH for ETH’s rollup-centric age.
Danksharding is a shard design that uses Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS) and crList to minimize MEV (Maximal extractable value).
Well, you may not have understood that relax and keep reading, everything will be explained in detail and simplified.
Before, we explain Dank Sharding tech let’s talk about these two important actors in Dank Sharding: PBS and MEV
PBS: Proposer-Builder Separation
Before we dive into PBS we have to talk about its two major components
Block Builders & Block Proposers
Block builders are simply block constructors while Block proposers select the constructed block and take the transaction from the block and propagate it to the Ethereum network.
In detail, a block builder creates a block (a list of transactions) and submits it, along with a bid to the Ethereum network. Then, this submitted block is selected by a block proposer, who selects the transaction with the highest bid and broadcasts it to the Eth chain. A proposer can decide to include or exclude transactions from a block, as they select transactions with the highest priority fee (bid). Hence, enabling MEV.
PBS
In a PoW blockchain, a proposer (miner) selects which transactions can be added to a block by viewing the memepool and detecting which transaction will benefit the miner more.
PBS fixes this issue by splitting the block proposer into two roles: Block Proposer and Block Builder. Block Builders represent a new class of actors who get a list of transactions from the proposer in form of a list called the crList. Builders can then rearrange transactions from the crList to optimize MEV for their profitability/benefits.
Since Builders have this massive power over block data, crList comes into play to make these builders honest avoiding data censorship. crList forces builders to include a transaction in a block, making builders honest and the chain trustless.
Note: PBS doesn’t eliminate MEV but rather, ‘It eliminates the centralization pressures coming from MEV by containing them in an honest minority role (builders).’ — Dankrad Feist.
By splitting the validators into two: Builders and Proposers, MEV centralization is eliminated.
At the moment or during Danksharding implementation, MEV won’t be eliminated. However, it’ll accelerate its end.
In conclusion, PBS will make MEV extraction minimal.
MEV
Formerly called Miner Extractable Value now called Minimal Extractable Value, MEV is invisible tax miners collect from users while using a blockchain (either BTC, ETH, etc).
Miners now validators can read a memepool (unconfirmed/pending transaction database) to determine which transactions can yield more gain which in turn delays other transactions.
In detail, actors known as searchers (independent network participants) create bots that detect profitable transaction opportunities (arbitrage) in a blockchain and submit these transactions to the network.
These searchers are willing to pay high gas fees in a bid to get their transactions added to a block and accepted by a validator. Validators will most likely accept these transactions as they are profitable to them due to the high gas fees.
The Danksharding Tech: How Danksharding Works
Block builders construct blocks and then request to be selected by the proposer. The block proposer selects the highest bidder, once selected, the selected builder has the duty of processing the block.
Also stated in this article, validators select transactions from the memepool which they know they’ll profit the most from, leaving other transactions to wait. This endangers scalability and boosts MEV.
However, thanks to PBS and crList, Danksharding will accelerate MEV’s end.
Dank Sharding for Rollups & ETH as the Settlement and DA (Data Availability) layer
From the image above, the execution blocks and the sharded blocks are connected and built together. Hence, validation of data is done in aggregate.
This results in:
The tight bond between the execution chain and shards aids a simpler rollup design. In this, the Rollups and L1s will be interoperable and connected. This will make ETH layer 1 a rollup in the future.
No delays in shard block confirmation.
0 chance for replication of data.
Shard blob confirmation won’t be tracked. In turn, this makes data easily available to Layer 1.
Execution and DA are confirmed in the same block — ETH becomes the settlement and DA layer, thereby increasing throughout by ~6400x. Hence, lower gas fees. This happens due to no separate shards for transactions.
Rollups
Rollups will benefit from DankSharding. It becomes easy for Rollups because it makes synchronous calls between zk rollups and L1s possible — allowing for easier rollup design.
Rollups like Optimism will benefit from this tech, with a massive ~100x reduction in gas fees.
Data Availability Sampling
Dankrad Feist explained data availability to mean ‘the permissionless ability to reconstruct the state.’ — at this year’s ETH Dubai.
DA sampling is a technique that allows nodes to verify large amounts of data by sampling a few pieces of it on the ETH network. DankSharding uses this tech, enabling ETH to process larger quantities of data than it could previously. This data is safe due to KZG commitment and erasure codes.
From my research Polygon Avail’s tech is very similar to this.
If you wanna go in-depth to understand DA sampling, can read this article on Avail.
Wen launch
DankSharding is said to be implemented after the merge, while Proto-DankSharding, a preliminary implementation of DankSharding is being tested, its full execution is expected about 6–12 months after the Shanghai Hard Fork.
In conclusion, Dank Sharding is a step to solving ETH’s blockchain trilemma.
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Please remember to do your research. None of this is financial advice.