Ethereum Core Developers Discuss Key Updates in Latest Call

On
July
18,
2024,
Ethereum
protocol
developers
convened
virtually
for
All
Core
Developers
Execution
(ACDE)
Call
#192.
Chaired
by
Ethereum
Foundation
(EF)
Protocol
Support
Lead
Tim
Beiko,
the
bi-weekly
meeting
focuses
on
discussing
and
coordinating
changes
to
the
execution
layer
(EL)
of
Ethereum,
according
to

Galaxy.com.

Discussion
on
EOF
and
EIP
7702

This
week,
the
developers
engaged
in
an
extensive
debate
about
the
inclusion
of
Ethereum
Virtual
Machine
Object
Format
(EOF)
in
the
upcoming
Pectra
upgrade.
Marius
van
der
Wijden,
a
Geth
developer,
voiced
strong
concerns
regarding
the
complexity
and
risks
associated
with
EOF
code
changes.
Despite
the
lengthy
discussion,
no
final
decisions
were
made
on
EOF
or
the
proposed
changes
to
EIP
7702.

Tim
Beiko
emphasized
three
additions
to
Pectra
that
developers
should
review
in
the
coming
weeks.
However,
there
were
no
updates
on
EIP
4444
during
the
call.

Pectra
Devnet
1

Updates
on
Pectra
Devnet
1
were
provided
by
an
EF
Developers
Operations
team
member
known
as
pk910.
Since
the
launch
of
Devnet
0
in
May,
client
teams
have
faced
multiple
setbacks
in
preparing
new
implementations.
However,
all
client
teams
are
now
ready,
with
most
issues
identified
during
testing
being
resolved.
The
Prysm
and
Erigon
teams
are
still
working
on
fixes,
and
developers
aim
to
launch
Devnet
1
on
July
25
with
all
clients.

EOF
Concerns

EOF
represents
a
bundle
of
code
changes
aimed
at
improving
the
functionality
of
smart
contract
code
execution.
Despite
its
potential
benefits,
van
der
Wijden
expressed
strong
opposition,
citing
implementation
risks.
He
stated,
“I
think
it’s
risky,
and
I
think
the
risks
outweigh
the
benefits.”
On
the
other
hand,
Daniel
Kirchner
from
the
EF
Solidity
team
argued
that
EOF
is
a
“superior
design”
and
essential
for
Layer
2
rollups
(L2s).

The
debate
extended
to
the
role
of
Ethereum
in
a
rollup-centric
future.
EF
Researcher
Ansgar
Dietrichs
and
Prysm
developer
“Potuz”
supported
the
inclusion
of
EOF,
while
Geth
developer
“Lightclient”
argued
for
a
simpler
Layer
1
(L1)
infrastructure.
Independent
developer
Danno
Ferrin
stressed
that
EVM
improvements
are
crucial
for
Ethereum’s
survival,
while
van
der
Wijden
and
Lightclient
remained
skeptical
about
the
long-term
benefits
of
EOF.

Tim
Beiko
suggested
moving
forward
with
EOF
in
Pectra
for
now,
with
the
option
to
reconsider
if
safety
concerns
arise
closer
to
the
fork’s
release.

EIP
7702
Proposed
Changes

Ankit
Chiplunkar
from
Frontier
Tech
proposed
changes
to
EIP
7702,
which
were
discussed
at
the
WalletConnect
conference.
These
changes
aim
to
extend
the
use
cases
for
EIP
7702
and
improve
its
security.
However,
some
developers,
including
Julian
Rachman
from
Otim
Labs
and
Elias
Tazartes
from
Kakarot
zkEVM,
opposed
the
changes,
arguing
that
they
add
unnecessary
complexity.

Developers
could
not
reach
a
consensus
on
the
proposed
changes,
and
Beiko
recommended
continuing
the
discussion
asynchronously
on
Discord.
He
acknowledged
that
the
specifications
might
change
on
future
devnets
after
further
testing
and
discussion.

Additions
to
Pectra

Due
to
time
constraints,
Beiko
recommended
that
remaining
agenda
topics
be
discussed
asynchronously.
Lightclient
proposed
deploying
system
contracts
with
an
event
log
for
future
Pectra
devnets.
Beiko
highlighted
EIP
7742
and
RIP
7212
as
potential
additions
to
Pectra,
but
emphasized
the
need
to
focus
on
shipping
Pectra
Devnet
1
first.

There
were
no
updates
on
EIP
4444.

Image
source:
Shutterstock