Beyond Dencun: Ethereum’s Next Big Upgrades Explained
The Dencun upgrade (March 2024) was a major milestone for Ethereum, introducing proto-danksharding (EIP-4844) and drastically reducing Layer 2 transaction fees. But Ethereum’s evolution is far from over. The next wave of upgrades—Prague/Electra, Verkle Trees, Danksharding, and more—will push the network toward greater scalability, security, and decentralization.
In this article, we’ll explore:
✅ What’s next after Dencun?
✅ Key upgrades in Ethereum’s roadmap
✅ How these changes will impact users and investors
1. Prague/Electra: The Next Hard Fork
Following Dencun, Ethereum’s next major hard fork is expected to be Prague/Electra, likely arriving in late 2024 or early 2025. This upgrade will focus on:
🔹 Verkle Trees (EIP-6800)
Replaces Ethereum’s current Merkle Patricia Trie with a more efficient data structure.
Enables stateless clients, reducing node storage requirements and improving decentralization.
Essential for light clients (e.g., mobile wallets) to sync with the network faster.
🔹 PeerDAS (EIP-7594)
A decentralized data availability solution that enhances blob storage for rollups.
Helps scale Ethereum further while maintaining security.
🔹 EOF (EVM Object Format, EIP-7692)
Improves the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) for smarter and more efficient smart contracts.
Why It Matters?
Prague/Electra will make Ethereum more lightweight and efficient, benefiting developers, node operators, and end-users.
2. The Surge: Full Danksharding (100K+ TPS)
Dencun introduced proto-danksharding, but the ultimate goal is full Danksharding, which will:
Expand data blobs to handle massive scalability (100,000+ TPS).
Use data availability sampling (DAS) to ensure security without requiring every node to store all data.
Make Layer 2 rollups (Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync) even cheaper and faster.
Expected Timeline: Testnets in 2025, mainnet rollout likely in 2026.
3. The Scourge: Fighting MEV & Centralization
Maximal Extractable Value (MEV)—where validators manipulate transaction order for profit—remains a challenge. Ethereum’s solutions:
🔹 Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS)
Separates block proposers (validators) from block builders (specialized actors).
Reduces MEV exploitation and prevents validator centralization.
🔹 Encrypted Mempools (EIP-7266)
Hides pending transactions to prevent front-running.
Why It Matters?
Fairer transactions and a more decentralized network.
4. The Purge: Cutting Ethereum’s Bloat
As Ethereum grows, its historical data becomes massive. The Purge phase tackles this with:
🔹 History Expiry (EIP-4444)
Nodes will automatically delete old blockchain data (older than 1 year).
Reduces storage needs from terabytes to gigabytes, making running a node easier.
🔹 State Expiry
Inactive accounts get archived, shrinking the active state size.
Why It Matters?
Lower hardware requirements = more nodes = stronger decentralization.
5. The Splurge: User Experience Upgrades
Ethereum’s final roadmap phase focuses on usability:
🔹 Account Abstraction (ERC-4337) $BTC 
Enables smart contract wallets with features like:
Gasless transactions (sponsor pays fees).
Social recovery (no seed phrase panic).
Batch transactions (save on fees).
🔹 Single-Slot Finality (SSF)
Makes Ethereum blocks final in one slot (~12 sec) instead of multiple confirmations.
Improves security and user experience.
Why It Matters?
Smoother onboarding for mainstream users.
Conclusion: Ethereum’s Path to Global Scale$ETH
Ethereum isn’t just chasing higher TPS—it’s building a modular, scalable, and decentralized future.
Key Takeaways:
Prague/Electra (2024-2025) brings Verkle Trees & more efficiency.
Full Danksharding (2025-2026) will enable 100K+ TPS.
MEV solutions make Ethereum fairer.
The Purge reduces node costs, boosting decentralization.
Account abstraction improves UX for mass adoption.
What’s Next?
Watch for Prague/Electra testnets later this year and growing L2 adoption.
What upgrade excites you most? Let’s discuss in the comments! 🚀
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✔ Balanced depth – Technical but digestible.
✔ Actionable insights – Helps traders & developers prepare.
✔ Engaging hook – Ends with a discussion prompt.
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