Ethereum’s Blob Transactions Surge Due to Inscriptions Hype

Ethereum’s blob transactions have witnessed a significant surge, exceeding the network’s set capacity. This escalation follows the introduction of inscriptions on blobs, a feature that has increased the demand for blob utilization.

Ethereum core developers implemented the Dencun upgrade, adding blob transactions to make Layer 2 transactions more cost-effective. This move has been successful, allowing Layer 2s to use blobs instead of the “calldata” method for posting transactions, offering a direct path to fee reduction and passing these savings to end users.

However, the recent introduction of inscriptions on blobs has begun to stress test the feature. Inspired by Bitcoin Ordinals, these inscriptions generate unique fungible and non-fungible artifacts embedded within blob transactions.

Despite blobs being ephemeral and removed from the network after 18 days, though full archival nodes can still maintain their data, blob-related inscriptions have emerged.

Analysis maintained by Hildobby shows a significant trend: 40% of blob transactions are now related to inscriptions. This is the highest usage of blobs posted among other Ethereum Layer 2s, such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and Linea.

The rise in blob transactions with inscriptions highlights Ethereum’s fast-changing nature, where unexpected features quickly gain traction. With the growing demand for inscriptions, developers may need to review the capacity and scalability of blob transactions to maintain network performance amid increasing usage.

Also read: Dencun’s Ethereum Mainnet Blob Upgrade Set for March 13