Following the successful launch of Ethereum Dencun Upgrade, a move that elicited excitement among community members as 15,000 ETH were moved, developers are already on to the next thing amid talks on whether to include MaxEB in Electra.
The development team is currently evaluating additional features for inclusion in the upgrade and is expected to make a final determination within the next one to four weeks.
Christine Kim, a researcher in the crypto space, in a series of posts on her X page emphasized the significance of parallel initiatives being pursued alongside the Electra upgrade. Two critical initiatives were highlighted.
PeerDAS and light client development
The first is PeerDAS, which is an initiative that aims to enhance Ethereum's data availability capacity, commonly referred to as "blob," in a secure manner. This is necessary as increasing data availability is crucial for scalability and network performance.
Second, light client development will focus on developing lightweight client solutions that allow more users to access Ethereum independently, with minimal hardware requirements and reduced reliance on third-party services.
This overall goal of the developers’ initiative is aimed at improving accessibility and decentralization within the Ethereum network for users. Although MaxEB remains the primary focus for developers due to its immediate impact on the network, both PeerDAS and light client development are considered high-priority items.
However, given the complexity of the Electra upgrade, it may divert some bandwidth away from these parallel efforts. Hence, Kim encourages the Ethereum community to hold developers accountable for advancing these parallel initiatives alongside the Electra upgrade.
Coordinating efforts for long-term growth
Despite their importance, she admits that they may not receive the same level of attention as MaxEB initially but stresses their significance for the long-term growth and development of the Ethereum network.
The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, will be present as a keynote speaker at the ETHTaipei 2024 annual Ethereum developer conference and hackathon, currently ongoing and expected to end March 24. At the conference, Buterin will participate in a panel alongside leaders of Layer-2 networks to assess the advancements in scaling Ethereum.
As developers strategize for the future, analysts are concerned over ETH's recent dip and likelihood of dropping below the $1,850 mark. This sentiment is sparking additional downward momentum and painting a potentially gloomy outlook for the near future of the asset.