Ethereum’s ‘Dencun’ upgrade likely delayed into 2024

Ethereum’s next major upgrade, Dencun, will likely see a delayed launch according to statements from developers during a meeting on Sept. 21.

Though Dencun is largely complete, it is still under development and in need of testing. Tim Beiko, a member of the Ethereum Foundation, said that Dencun still must be deployed to a testnet. He added that the timing of this step could delay Cancun’s launch on the Ethereum mainnet — where real transactions occur — into the new year.

Beiko said during the meeting:

“I think the implication is, if we don’t do a test net before Devconnect [Nov. 13-18] … it’s probably unlikely we can do mainnet before the … Christmas holidays … and people being gone so that’s probably not the best time for committment.”

Developers previously did not give Dencun a definite date, but most previous estimates suggested that the upgrade would go live before the end of 2023.

Devs consider target testnet

News of a possible Dencun delay comes shortly after Ethereum’s Holesky testnet experienced launch issues. Holesky continues to wait for a relaunch.

During the current meeting, Developers addressed whether the Holesky testnet will be available for Dencun testing prior to Devconnect in November. Ethereum Foundation member Parithosh Jayanthi said that Holesky’s relaunch is set to take place on Sept. 28 and will be ready for Dencun testing before the upcoming conference.

Jayanthi nevertheless suggested testing Dencun’s first fork on an older testnet, Goerli, which will soon be discontinued. He noted that the end of Goerli’s lifespan means that any issues related to Dencun will be isolated to that testnet.

Jayanthi additionally suggested that Dencun’s second and third forks could be tested on the new Holesky testnet at a later date. “If [Dencun] goes badly on Holesky, then we have to figure out how to save it,” Jayanthi concluded.

Dencun will combine two upgrades, Deneb and Cancun, and will bring various new features. The most notable of those features is proto-danksharding, which will improve Ethereum’s scalability when finally arrives on mainnet.

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