- Ethereum lagged Bitcoin’s recent rally as interest in altcoins soared
- Recent Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP) and active developer discussions have sought to improve Ethereum’s ecosystem
As Bitcoin approached the $30,000 level, many other cryptocurrencies saw a corresponding surge in interest. And yet, Ethereum [ETH]often seen as digital silver to Bitcoin’s gold, saw relatively moderate growth during this period.
Nevertheless, Ethereum’s performance, or lack thereof in terms of price movements, did not reflect the ongoing developments within the Ethereum ecosystem.
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New proposals
A notable development is the latest Ethereum Improvement Proposal, better known as EIP, which aims to introduce asynchronous deposit and redemption flows. This proposal serves as an extension to the existing ERC-4626 tokenized vault standard. The ERC-4626 standard focuses on creating parameters for yield-bearing vaults, which are smart contract platforms that execute strategies and provide rewards to token depositors.
In particular, EIP-7540 focuses on enabling asynchronous deposit and redemption flows, significantly improving processes for protocols related to real-world assets (RWAs), cross-chain lending, and liquid staking. This potential improvement was even highlighted in an interview with Asad Khan, a DeFi expert at Centrifuge.
Khan explained that EIP-7540 enables more seamless interactions between users who deposit assets and the tokens they receive in return, creating a more user-friendly experience. This is especially relevant in areas such as RWAs, where various real-world assets can be tokenized and managed more efficiently.
Developments on the network continue to increase
Furthermore, Ethereum’s developer community has remained very active, demonstrating its commitment to the network’s evolution. At their 120th meeting on October 19, 2023, Ethereum developers came discussed critical updates, including changes to Ethereum’s core consensus layer (CL). This illustrates the ongoing efforts to refine Ethereum’s core functionality and ensure its reliability and performance.
A specific issue addressed during this meeting was related to data blob synchronization. Data blob synchronization efficiently distributes blocks of information across the Ethereum network. This synchronization is crucial to ensure that all participants have consistent access to the same data. During the meeting, developers took a closer look at the impact of data blob synchronization on block latency.
For context, block latency in Ethereum refers to the time it takes for a new block of transactions to be received and processed by nodes in the network. Lower block latency is desirable because it improves the efficiency and responsiveness of the Ethereum blockchain.
Realistic or not, here is the market cap of ETH in terms of BTC
While Ethereum undergoes these developments and improvements, questions remain about the potential impact on the price of ETH. At the time of writing, the price was trading at $1,609. Ethereum’s price can be affected by both these technical developments and broader market sentiment.
At the same time, network growth has shown signs of decline, suggesting that Ethereum may need to reignite interest among new users to continue growing in the future.