Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a new Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP-7706) to improve the network’s efficiency and reduce gas fees. EIP-7706 aims to add an independent gas type for call data, which is the data associated with a transaction that is not part of the contract code.
Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) are a set of standards and guidelines used to propose changes and improvements to the Ethereum network. EIPs cover a wide range of topics, including technical standards, protocol changes, and network upgrades.
They are essential for the Ethereum community to discuss and agree upon modifications to the network’s functionality and features.
If implemented, EIP-7706 will activate a distinct call data fee market, featuring separate base fees and block limits from the existing gas system. This will result in lowering costs and improving the user experience by optimizing call data costs on Ethereum.
The issue of gas fees on Ethereum has been a major concern for users due to the high costs associated with transactions on the network. Gas fees are essential for processing transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, but they can vary considerably based on factors like network congestion and transaction complexity.
The calculation of gas fees involves the gas limit, base fee, and priority fee, with users having the option to offer a priority fee to expedite their transactions.
The fluctuation of gas fees is influenced by network demand, with higher congestion leading to increased gas prices. Users can proactively manage gas costs by timing their transactions during off-peak hours, exploring gas price estimation tools, and adopting Layer 2 scaling solutions like Arbitrum and Loopring to reduce fees.
Despite efforts to address the gas fee issue, such as using layer-2 solutions and optimizing gas efficiency, the high fees on Ethereum have made low-value transactions essentially unusable in many cases.
Moreover, this isn’t the sole suggestion Vitalik has put forth this year. In 2024 alone, Vitalik Buterin has advocated for: EIP-7702, aimed to transition users from Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) to a new system; new gas model to tackle the problem of high transaction costs related to data-heavy transactions that do not necessarily involve significant computational work on the Ethereum network; and others.
Read also; Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum devs propose EIP-7702 to improve Account Abstraction.
