EIP-1559 is coming! Ethereum London upgrade launched on the Ropsten testnet
The London upgrade was activated earlier on the Ropsten testnet at block height 10499401. This is the first of all testnets before the London hard fork officially launches on the mainnet, with the mainnet upgrade still scheduled for July.
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Ethereum London Hard Fork
The London hard fork is widely regarded by Ethereum supporters as a significant upgrade. The improvements covered in the upgrade include:
- EIP-1559: Changes to ETH fee structure
- EIP-3198: BASEFEE opcode
- EIP-3529: Reduction in Gas refunds
- EIP-3541: Rejection of new contracts starting with 0xEF address
- EIP-3554: Delay of difficulty bomb until December 1, 2021
Following the launch on the Ropsten test network, the schedule for the remaining test networks is as follows:
- Goerli Test Network: Block height 5062605 expected on 6/30
- Rinkeby Test Network: Block height 8897988 expected on 7/7
EIP-1559
The EIP-1559 proposal is arguably the most anticipated major update for Ethereum. Initially proposed by Ethereum founder Vitalik in 2018, it can significantly change the way transaction fees are calculated and have a major impact on ETH's value capture, user experience, security, and more.
Furthermore, in the EIP-1559 proposal, on-chain transaction fees will be split into "base fee" + "tip," with the "base fee" not going to miners but being burned directly, thus reducing the circulating supply.
This change makes Ethereum more likely to move away from the long-criticized unlimited token issuance towards a deflationary mechanism, potentially increasing the token price.
Therefore, as the cryptocurrency market experiences a significant pullback in recent days, Ethereum developers and supporters continue to urge, "Less than a month left until the significant positive update."
This upgrade only affects the Ethereum test network and does not impact the Ethereum mainnet. Ethereum mainnet users do not need to take any action.