Ethereum May Replace “Blocks” With Blobs — New Scaling Proposal Explained

A new proposal in the Ethereum ecosystem is exploring a pretty radical idea: what if blocks, as we know them, are no longer the main way data is handled?

Researchers have introduced a draft standard called EIP-8142, also referred to as “Block-in-Blobs.” The concept builds on earlier upgrades and suggests moving transaction data directly into blob objects, rather than relying on traditional block structures.

So, what’s the goal here?

Right now, as block sizes and gas limits increase, validators are required to process and re-execute larger amounts of data. This creates bottlenecks and puts pressure on the network. The new approach aims to reduce that burden.

Instead of downloading and executing full transaction payloads, validators would verify cryptographic proofs of blobs. Over time, this could evolve into data availability sampling (DAS), where only small portions of data need to be checked to confirm the integrity of the whole dataset.

Blobs themselves were introduced during the Dencun upgrade (via EIP-4844) as a more efficient way to handle large amounts of data. EIP-8142 takes that idea further, turning blobs from a supporting feature into a core data layer.

This becomes especially relevant in a future with zkEVM systems, where transaction validity is proven using zero-knowledge proofs instead of re-executed by every validator. However, proofs alone don’t guarantee that the underlying data is available and this proposal aims to address that gap.

There are also discussions about simplifying fees by merging execution gas and blob-related costs into a single data gas model.

Alongside this, another proposal (ERC-8211) explores making transactions more programmable, allowing them to react to on-chain conditions and execute multiple steps with a single signature.

All of this points to a broader shift: Ethereum isn’t just scaling, it’s rethinking how data, execution, and validation work at a fundamental level.