SMG pfp

SMG

@smg

0 Following
42 Followers
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
For full details, more results on EIP-1559, and to learn about the new methods we developed for this analysis, check out the full research in SPEC-04. https://www.mechanism.org/spec/04
0 reply
0 recast
1 reaction
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
We propose a simple fix: just slow down the escalator. 🦥 Target 15M average gas, only over a slightly longer timeframe. Then the base fee will respond to secular changes in demand rather than short-term randomness, and extract less from time-sensitive users.
1 reply
0 recast
1 reaction
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
When we examined the data and applied tools from queueing theory and mechanism design, we found that indeed Ethereum was delaying time-insensitive transactions more than it needed to.
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
Why is this a problem? When the blockchain can’t clear the sudden backlog of low-fee txs, wait times go up for everybody, and time-sensitive txs must pay more to avoid delay. Ethereum overcharges time-sensitive users for the artificial delay caused by its spiky base fee.
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
This sensitivity means that EIP-1559 is easily fooled by randomness. When a random burst of transactions arrives for a few blocks, EIP-1559 thinks “we’re so back”, suddenly makes the entire blockchain more expensive, and low-fee transactions start to pile up.
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
Instead of rising and falling with slow seasonal variations, the dynamic base fee per gas used by EIP-1559 changes rapidly, spiking and cratering in the span of just a few blocks.
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
But Ethereum is not a static setting, and when we studied the problem using new dynamic methods that more faithfully model user behavior, we can see that this intuition no longer holds.
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
A myth of EIP-1559 is that because it achieves this gas target, it must be setting the right price for blockspace. This intuition comes from a static setting where if you’re selling the amount that you want to supply then the price you are setting must be the right market price.
1 reply
0 recast
1 reaction
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
A major problem that EIP-1559 solves is that it sets a dynamic base fee per gas so that there are different prices for blockspace during a DeFi summer and a DeFi winter. This helps the network hit its target of, on average, 15M gas per block.
1 reply
0 recast
1 reaction
SMG pfp
SMG
@smg
We Fixed 1559! 🎉 A misspecification of EIP-1559’s update parameter is causing increased delays and higher gas fees. In SPEC-04, we suggest slowing down the base fee update parameter to fix this.
3 replies
0 recast
14 reactions