Abstract
This EIP introduces Blob Parameter Only (BPO) Hardforks, a lightweight mechanism for incrementally scaling Ethereum’s blob capacity through targeted hard forks that modify only blob-related parameters: target, max, and baseFeeUpdateFraction. Unlike traditional hard forks, which require extensive coordination and introduce broader protocol changes, BPO forks enable rapid, low-overhead scaling of blob capacity in response to real-world demand and network conditions.
Motivation
Ethereum's scaling strategy relies on Layer 2 (L2) solutions for transaction execution while using Ethereum as a data availability (DA) layer. However, the demand for DA has increased rapidly, and the current approach of only modifying blob parameters in large, infrequent hard forks is not agile enough to keep up with L2 growth.
The key motivations for BPO forks are as follows:
Continuous Scaling
- L2 DA demand is growing rapidly, leading to ongoing saturation of blob capacity.
- Large, infrequent blob parameter changes create high costs and inefficiencies.
- BPO forks allow for more frequent, safer capacity increases.
Reduced Operational Overhead
- Performance improvements and further testing will continue to unlock additional capacity.
- It is desirable to reduce the time between core devs agreeing on a parameter increase and its effective deployment.
- Full Ethereum hard forks require significant coordination, testing, and upgrade efforts across clients.
- By isolating blob parameter changes, BPO forks reduce the complexity of upgrades.
Enhanced Stability with New Scaling Technologies
- Major scaling upgrades introduce uncertainty in optimal blob limits.
- Rather than forcing core developers to accept a suboptimal tradeoff between stability and capacity, BPO forks allow developers to safely increase parameters after observing mainnet performance and stability.
Predictable Upgrades for Builders
- Builders and L2s require confidence that Ethereum will continuously scale to support their needs.
- A structured BPO framework provides predictability, allowing rollups to commit to Ethereum over alternative DA solutions.
Specification
Definition
BPO hardforks are defined as protocol upgrades that modify only blob-related parameters through configuration, without requiring any client-side code changes. The new parameters take effect immediately at the specified activation time.
Blob schedule configuration
The following protocol parameters are now managed by the blob schedule configuration:
- Blob Target (
target): The expected number of blobs per block.
- Blob Limit (
max): The maximum number of blobs per block.
- Blob Base Fee Update Fraction (
baseFeeUpdateFraction): Determines how blob gas pricing adjusts per block.
To ensure consistency, when a regular hardfork changes any of these parameters, it MUST do so by adding an entry to the blob schedule configuration.
Execution layer configuration
To facilitate these changes on the execution layer, each fork in the blobSchedule object defined in EIP-7840 is linked to an activation timestamp via a top-level <fork_name>Time field, which holds the Unix timestamp of the activation slot as a JSON number. BPO forks SHOULD be named using the convention bpo<index>, where <index> starts at 1. Left padding is unnecessary since these labels are not subject to lexicographic sorting. Activation timestamps are required only for forks that occur after Prague.
{
"blobSchedule": {
"cancun": {
"target": 3,
"max": 6,
"baseFeeUpdateFraction": 3338477
},
"prague": {
"target": 6,
"max": 9,
"baseFeeUpdateFraction": 5007716
},
"osaka": {
"target": 6,
"max": 9,
"baseFeeUpdateFraction": 5007716
},
"bpo1": {
"target": 10,
"max": 15,
"baseFeeUpdateFraction": 8346193
},
"bpo2": {
"target": 14,
"max": 21,
"baseFeeUpdateFraction": 11684671
}
},
"cancunTime": 0,
"pragueTime": 0,
"osakaTime": 1747387400,
"bpo1Time": 1757387400,
"bpo2Time": 1767387784
}
Since there is no backporting, the values for cancunTime and pragueTime are set to 0. It should also be noted that the other parameters and schedules above are purely illustrative. Actual values and schedules are beyond the scope of this specification.
Blob base fee computations
We modify the functions get_base_fee_per_blob_gas and calc_excess_blob_gas defined in EIP-4844 to explicitly use the blob schedule.
In line with how updating BLOB_BASE_FEE_UPDATE_FRACTION was handled in EIP-7691, the functions use the current block's blob schedule.
Moreover, TARGET_BLOB_GAS_PER_BLOCK is removed and replaced with GAS_PER_BLOB * blob_schedule.target, as it is now redundant.
class BlobSchedule:
target: U64
max: U64
base_fee_update_fraction: Uint
def calc_excess_blob_gas(parent: Header, blob_schedule: BlobSchedule) -> int:
target_blob_gas = GAS_PER_BLOB * blob_schedule.target
if parent.excess_blob_gas + parent.blob_gas_used < target_blob_gas :
return 0
else:
return parent.excess_blob_gas + parent.blob_gas_used - target_blob_gas
def get_base_fee_per_blob_gas(header: Header, blob_schedule: BlobSchedule) -> int:
return fake_exponential(
MIN_BASE_FEE_PER_BLOB_GAS,
header.excess_blob_gas,
blob_schedule.base_fee_update_fraction
)
Consensus layer configuration
A new BLOB_SCHEDULE field is added to consensus layer configuration, containing a sequence of entries representing blob parameter changes after ELECTRA_FORK_EPOCH. There exists one entry per fork that changes blob parameters, whether it is a regular or a Blob-Parameter-Only fork.
BLOB_SCHEDULE:
- EPOCH: 400000 # A future anonymous BPO fork
MAX_BLOBS_PER_BLOCK: 15
- EPOCH: 420000 # A future anonymous BPO fork
MAX_BLOBS_PER_BLOCK: 21
The parameters and schedules above are purely illustrative. Actual values and schedules are beyond the scope of this specification.
Requirements:
- Execution and consensus clients MUST share consistent BPO fork schedules.
- The slot number in the EL's
blobSchedule MUST align with the start of the epoch specified in the consensus layer configuration.
- The
max field in the EL's blobSchedule MUST equal the MAX_BLOBS_PER_BLOCK value in the consensus layer configuration.
Modified compute_fork_digest
The compute_fork_digest helper is updated to account for BPO forks:
@dataclass
class BlobScheduleEntry:
epoch: Epoch
max_blobs_per_block: uint64 # Aligning with the type of MAX_BLOBS_PER_BLOCK
def compute_fork_digest(
current_version: Version, # Unchanged; refers to the baseline hardfork atop which the blob schedule is applied
genesis_validators_root: Root, # Unchanged
current_epoch: Epoch, # New
blob_schedule: Sequence[BlobScheduleEntry] # New
) -> ForkDigest:
"""
Return the 4-byte fork digest for the ``current_version`` and ``genesis_validators_root``,
bitmasking blob parameters after ``ELECTRA_FORK_VERSION``.
This is a digest primarily used for domain separation on the p2p layer.
4-bytes suffices for practical separation of forks/chains.
"""
base_digest = compute_fork_data_root(current_version, genesis_validators_root)[:4]
# Find the blob parameters applicable to this epoch.
sorted_schedule = sorted(blob_schedule, key=lambda e: e.epoch, reverse=True)
blob_params = None
for entry in sorted_schedule:
if current_epoch >= entry.epoch:
blob_params = entry
break
# This check enables us to roll out the BPO mechanism without a concurrent parameter change.
if blob_params is None:
return ForkDigest(base_digest)
# Safely bitmask blob parameters into the digest.
assert 0 <= blob_params.max_blobs_per_block <= 0xFFFFFFFF
mask = blob_params.max_blobs_per_block.to_bytes(4, 'big')
masked_digest = bytes(a ^ b for a, b in zip(base_digest, mask))
return ForkDigest(masked_digest)
P2P Networking
ENR
In the consensus layer, ENRs are extended with an additional entry nfd, short for "next fork digest". This field communicates the digest of the next scheduled fork, regardless of whether it is a regular or BPO fork. This approach is preferred over encoding BPO-specific parameters because it is agnostic to specific use cases and offers greater long-term flexibility.
| Key |
Value |
nfd |
SSZ Bytes4 ForkDigest |
When discovering and interfacing with peers, nodes MUST evaluate nfd alongside their existing consideration of the ENRForkID::next_* fields under the eth2 key, to form a more accurate view of the peer's intended next fork.
Status req/resp
No changes are needed in this interaction, but it is noted that the response payload must correctly contain the updated fork_digest.
Gossip topics
No changes are required to topic structure or configuration. However, all topics will automatically rotate at a BPO fork due to changes in their ForkDigestValue component.
Rationale
Why not just use regular hardforks?
Full hard forks require extensive coordination, testing, and implementation changes beyond parameter adjustments. For example, in Lighthouse, a typical hard fork implementation requires thousands of lines of boilerplate before any protocol changes occur. BPO forks streamline this process by avoiding the need for this boilerplate code.
Why specify parameters in the node configuration instead of code?
Allowing blob parameters to be configured externally enables rapid experimentation, testing, and adjustments without requiring code changes across client implementations. Testing teams can investigate different parameters with minimal involvement from client implementers.
Why not create an on-chain voting mechanism for blob parameters?
- Ethereum's recent gas limit increase to 36M took nearly a year to coordinate
- Blob capacity is a rapidly evolving, moving target that the wider staking community is not currently well equipped to track
- An on-chain mechanism would require much more extensive code changes, testing cycles, and debates about governance structures.
- BPO forks provide a simpler, more predictable approach while leaving room for future on-chain voting mechanisms when blob capacity stabilizes
Backwards Compatibility
BPO forks introduce no backwards compatibility concerns.
Security Considerations
No security risks have been identified.
Copyright
Copyright and related rights waived via CC0.
