Glossary
Proto-Danksharding
The informal name for EIP-4844, the first step toward danksharding that introduced cheap, temporary blob storage so rollups can post data without competing for regular calldata.
Proto-danksharding is the nickname for EIP-4844, the upgrade that shipped a stripped-down version of danksharding's design. It adds blob-carrying transactions: each block can hold a handful of large "blobs" of data that consensus nodes verify but automatically prune after about 18 days, making them far cheaper than permanent calldata.
The "proto" prefix signals that it lays the groundwork without the full machinery. It reuses danksharding's blob format and KZG commitments, but skips data availability sampling, so every node still downloads all blobs for now. Activated in the Dencun upgrade, it cut rollup fees dramatically and set the stage for full danksharding once sampling is added later.