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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
Ethereum is about to get a big update, but what is it called? You might have heard Proto-Danksharding, Dencun, Deneb, or Cancun. And all of those answers would be correct. Why is this? How does Ethereum name its updates and why does it seem so confusing? 👇Read on to find out https://t.co/3jOd37zQoF
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
Every Ethereum update is actually 2 updates. This is because Ethereum exists as 2 layers: 1️⃣ Execution Layer - Where transactions and smart contracts live 2️⃣ Consensus Layer - Where Proof of Stake takes place Updating Ethereum means updating each of these layers.
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
Each of those layer-level upgrades gets its own name. Execution Layer updates are named after cities that hosted DevCon, an Ethereum conference, and follow the order that those conferences were held in. Consensus Layer updates are named after stars and go in alphabetical order.
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
In the next update (set to take place on March 13): 🌆 The Execution Layer upgrade is called Cancun (as it hosted DevCon 3) ⭐️ The Consensus Layer upgrade is called Deneb (after a star in the constellation of Cygnus)
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
Most people don't care about the layer-level upgrades, they just care about the overall update to Ethereum. To keep things simple, Ethereans use a portmanteau of the 2 names to refer to the overall upgrade. For the next update, the portmanteau is Dencun.
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
That leave each Ethereum update with 3 different names: 1️⃣ The Execution Layer upgrade name 2️⃣ The Consensus Layer upgrade name 3️⃣ The portmanteau of 1️⃣ and 2️⃣
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
So that explains some of the naming confusion. But it still doesn't explain why some people talk about updates like 'Proto-Danksharding' or 'The Merge'. Where do these come from?
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
Each update contains a number of small changes called EIPs (Ethereum Improvement Proposals). Most of the time, nobody outside of the developer community pays much attention to these changes. Occasionally though, a particularly exciting EIP will gain a lot of attention.
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
Examples of especially hyped EIPs are: EIP-1559 - which I covered here https://medium.com/topic-crypto/everything-you-need-to-know-about-eip-1559-eip1559-explained-8332bb46306d EIP-4844 (AKA Proto-Danksharding) - which I covered here https://t.co/FD8F4sf7QL
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
These exciting changes tend to overshadow everything else that is included in an upgrade with them. It didn't matter that the 'London' update contained 5 EIPs, people only cared about 1559. Therefore, people would often say "1559" instead of "London".
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
Today, people are very excited about Proto-Danksharding and pretty much only talk about this element of the Dencun upgrade. As a result, you're more likely to hear someone say "Proto-Danksharding is coming" than "Dencun is coming".
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Joseph Harris
@jdsharris
The final element of the naming confusion is the use of terms like 'The Merge' and 'The Verge'. These comes from Ethereum's long-term, big-picture roadmap shown here: https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1741190491578810445
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