--- tags: 1559 --- # The State of 1559 - Update 002 🔥 ## TL;DR ⬇️ * We discussed EIP-1559 on AllCoreDevs again. DoS risks are still the main blocker to eventually deploying it, but there were no other major objections; * We had another implementers' call: Besu and Nethermind are syncing to the 1559 testnet, we're debugging Geth consensus issues and tons of R&D work is happening; * The [mainnet readiness checklist](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/blob/master/Fee%20Market%20Meetings/mainnet-readiness.md) is live; * The Cat Herders' [community outreach report](https://medium.com/ethereum-cat-herders/eip-1559-community-outreach-report-aa18be0666b5) is out! ## Implementation Updates 🛠 A lot has happened since our [last update](https://hackmd.io/@timbeiko/1559-update-001), just three weeks ago! First, we discussed EIP-1559 on [AllCoreDevs#97](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/pull/214/files?short_path=49058cd#diff-49058cd1d689842ad5a93efb31c50abdd3486642bc32b4adb93354df123fd4ac). We shared the latest updates and asked client teams what they saw as the main blockers for EIP-1559, and whether these had changed since the discussion on [ACD#77](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/blob/master/All%20Core%20Devs%20Meetings/Meeting%2077.md#eip-1559). The good news is that there aren't any new major objections to EIP-1559! Some minor points were raised, like how the goals of the EIP are a bit unclear (*is it about improving UX? fee burning? increasing throughput?*), but no new showstoppers. Nethermind were surprised by how simple the latest changes to the spec had made the implementation! The bad news is that the denial of service risks on Ethereum are still a major concern we need to address before deploying 1559. Luckily, efforts like [EIP-2929](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-2929), which is now part of the next ephemeral testnet, YOLOv2, and "flat state databases", like [Geth's snapshot approach](https://blog.ethereum.org/2020/07/17/ask-about-geth-snapshot-acceleration/), could help here. Second, we had another [1559 implementers' call](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/pull/216/files?short_path=93ef583#diff-93ef5835d657a4a7d0a733c62e4a29144dd272541e07065066cd4bea0af9983f). We covered a lot: Besu and Nethermind are both syncing on the 1559 Clique testnet, Vulcanize are still trying to debug a consensus issue on Geth, multiple simulation scenarios are being worked on, and we are ready to begin writting changes for the JSON RPC spec to support 1559-style transactions. Third, I put together a [mainnet readiness checklist](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/blob/master/Fee%20Market%20Meetings/mainnet-readiness.md) to keep track of what needs to be done for EIP-1559 to be "mainnet ready". I will keep it up to date as issues come up and get solved. Given it is nearly impossible to predict dates on Ethereum, this should help the community know what is done and what's left to do to get 1559 ready. Our biggest win on this so far is getting [PR#2924](https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/pull/2924) included in the spec. The PR simplifies 1559 _a lot_! Now, we can treat legacy transactions as 1559-style ones by setting `gas price` to be the sum of `base fee` and `tip`. This means that legacy transactions won't have to be deprecated (but will overpay slightly on their `tip` [0]), that we won't need to have a transition period and that we won't need to maintain two parallel transaction pools 🎉! ## R&D Updates 🤖 During the implementers' call, [Barnabé Monnot](https://twitter.com/barnabemonnot) gave an extensive update on his team's simulation work. It is worth listenning to [the recording](https://youtu.be/SHVfypwL5W8?t=295) for the full details, but, in short, his team are modelling various potential scenarios, ranging from quantifying the UX benefits of 1559 to analyzing the behavior of users who try and bid strategically for quicker block inclusion. Two simulation notebooks have been published ([stationnary users](https://nbviewer.jupyter.org/github/barnabemonnot/abm1559/blob/master/notebooks/stationary1559.ipynb), [strategic users](https://nbviewer.jupyter.org/github/barnabemonnot/abm1559/blob/master/notebooks/strategicUser.ipynb)), and we can expect more to be shared in the coming weeks. The list of planned simulations is being kept up to date on the [mainnet readiness checklist](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/blob/master/Fee%20Market%20Meetings/mainnet-readiness.md#simulations). For a deeper dive, Barnabé also gave a longer overview of his work this week as part of the [Taipei Ethereum Meetup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pErNDU5BiE&fbclid=IwAR07ICRj62B9H--6SLb2Xda0wy172L2vJIPOW0C15dBF_f8fRNuKwTm1JPg). Another small update worth pointing out is Vitalik's mention of EIP-1559 as part of his [rollup-centric ethereum roadmap](https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/a-rollup-centric-ethereum-roadmap/4698). EIP-1559 is beneficial for rollups, who depend on on-chain transactions for confirmation, by making next-block-inclusion easier. ## Community Outreach 😺 As mentioned in the last update, the Ethereum Cat Herders have reached out to various projects in the community to get feedback on and answer questions about EIP-1559. Now that the Cat Herders have processed the first batch of calls and form reponses, they've put out an initial [community outreach report](https://medium.com/ethereum-cat-herders/eip-1559-community-outreach-report-aa18be0666b5). The report has both a TL;DR of the key findings, as well as an FAQ answering the questions that projects most frequently asked during the calls. For the next version of the report, the Cat Herders would love to speak with more wallets and exchanges. If you can help with this, please [ping me on Twitter](https://twitter.com/TimBeiko). ## Other Updates 📝 * Vitalik put out [a new set of slides](https://vitalik.ca/files/misc_files/EIP_1559_Fee_Structure.pdf) about EIP-1559; * I went on the [Bankless "State of the Nation"](https://youtu.be/FhAr8Upa-Ts?t=957) video series to discuss 1559; * I will be giving a 1559 overview talk on Oct. 23 as part of [EthOnline's "The Future of Ethereum" summit](https://ethonline.org/#speakers). ## Next Steps ✅ Hopefully that wasn't too dense! If there's anything you'd like to see more or less of in these updates, please let me know via Twitter (I'm [@timbeiko 👋🏻](https://www.twitter.com/timbeiko))! In terms of next steps, here's what you can expect over the next few weeks: * More progress on the Geth <> Besu <> Nethermind testnet, hopefully with the launch of a PoW network to test 1559-enabled mining. * A slew of EIPs to add support for 1559 to the JSON RPC spec. The [first one](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-3041) is already up! * More outreach by the Cat Herders to wallets and exchanges to gather feedback on 1559. * Possibly some extra simulation notebooks published to analyze different scenarios. And that's it! Thanks for reading, and expect another one of these updates in a few weeks' time 😁 --- [0] By setting the `gas price` to the `feecap` and the `tip` to `feecap - base fee`, all the "leftover budget" goes towards the tip, while for 1559-style transactions, the `tip` is explicitly set by the user and the difference of `feecap - base fee - tip` is refunded to the transaction sender.