Introduction:

EIP-4788 introduces a development in the Ethereum ecosystem by seamlessly integrating the cryptographic accumulators of the beacon chain block roots into the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). These beacon chain block roots serve as crucial components for enhancing trust-minimized access to the consensus layer. This integration enables a multitude of applications and use cases that significantly improve trust assumptions within the Ethereum network.

This Ethereum Improvement Proposal is an essential step forward in addressing challenges related to staking pools, re-staking constructions, smart contract bridges, and the mitigation of Miner Extractable Value (MEV). By making these Beacon chain block roots accessible within the EVM, EIP-4788 empowers developers and stakeholders to enhance the security and reliability of their applications, all while providing invaluable insights into the consensus state of the Ethereum network.

Problem:

Trust and access to the consensus state in Ethereum's beacon chain have been challenging for various applications and services. Staking pools, re-staking constructions, smart contract bridges, and mechanisms to mitigate miner extractable value (MEV) require trust in the integrity of the beacon chain's consensus data. However, there's a need for a trust-minimized method to access this data.

Solution :

EIP-4788 introduces a solution to the problem by proposing the integration of Beacon chain block roots into the EVM through a beacon roots contract.

Here's how the solution works:

Beacon Roots Contract:

A smart contract, referred to as the "beacon roots contract," is deployed on the Ethereum network. This contract has two main operations: "get" and "set."

"Get" Operation:

Users and applications can call the "get" operation of the beacon roots contract by providing a timestamp encoded as 32 bytes in big-endian format. The contract then computes the storage index based on the timestamp and retrieves the corresponding beacon root associated with that timestamp. If the provided timestamp doesn't match, the contract reverts. This "get" operation allows trust-minimized access to beacon chain data for verification purposes.

"Set" Operation:

The "set" operation is used by the system (typically by SYSTEM_ADDRESS) to update the beacon roots contract with the parent beacon block root. This operation ensures that the beacon roots contract is kept up-to-date with the latest consensus data.

Ring Buffer:

To manage the storage efficiently and prevent attacks, a ring buffer is used, which stores a history of block roots. This ring buffer is crucial for optimizing storage usage and ensuring that recent and relevant data is accessible.

Benefits:

With this solution, various Ethereum applications, including staking pools, re-staking constructions, smart contract bridges, and MEV mitigations, can access and verify the beacon chain's consensus data without having to rely on centralized or less-trustworthy sources. It enhances trust-minimized access to this critical information.

Deep Dive - 4788

Motivation:

Trust-Minimized Access to Consensus Layer:

EIP 4788 is primarily motivated by the desire to provide trust-minimized access to the consensus layer of the Ethereum blockchain. This means that it aims to enable participants in the Ethereum network to access critical information related to the blockchain's consensus mechanism without relying on centralized or external intermediaries.

Utilizing Beacon Chain Block Roots:

The proposal recognizes the significance of beacon chain block roots, which are cryptographic accumulators. These roots are used as a basis for proving the state of consensus at a specific point in time. By exposing these roots within the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), EIP 4788 enables developers and users to interact with and verify the state of the Ethereum network without needing to trust any centralized authority.

Improved Trust Assumptions:

Acknowledges that improved trust assumptions are essential for the healthy functioning of various Ethereum-related applications. This improvement in trust assumptions is achieved by making critical consensus-related data more accessible and transparent within the Ethereum ecosystem.

Applications in Staking Pools:

The proposal recognizes that staking pools, which play a pivotal role in the Ethereum ecosystem, can benefit from trust-minimized access to the consensus layer. Staking pools rely on consensus mechanisms to validate transactions and create new blocks. By accessing beacon chain block roots directly within the EVM, staking pools can enhance their trustworthiness.

Re-staking Constructions:

It recognize the relevance of re-staking constructions in the context of Ethereum. Re-staking typically involves reinvesting staked assets in the network. Trust-minimized access to consensus data is crucial for these constructions, ensuring that stakers can confidently reinvest their assets without relying on external sources.

Smart Contract Bridges:

Smart contract bridges are essential for interoperability between different blockchains and networks. Trust-minimized access to consensus data is vital for the secure and reliable operation of these bridges. EIP 4788 provides a mechanism for such bridges to access the required data within the EVM.

MEV Mitigations:

Miner Extractable Value (MEV) refers to the profit-seeking actions taken by miners or validators to extract value from transactions. By exposing beacon chain block roots and providing trust-minimized access to the consensus layer, EIP 4788 can help mitigate MEV, making transactions more fair and predictable.

Specification:

FORK_TIMESTAMP (To Be Determined):

The proposal introduces the constant FORK_TIMESTAMP. This value marks the timestamp at which the integration of beacon chain block roots into the EVM begins. It's an essential parameter for executing the changes proposed in this EIP.

HISTORY_BUFFER_LENGTH (8191):

HISTORY_BUFFER_LENGTH is another constant, set at 8191. This value determines the size of a historical record or ring buffer for beacon chain block roots. The purpose of this buffer is to store historical roots efficiently and ensure a constant amount of storage is used for each execution block.

SYSTEM_ADDRESS (0xfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffe):

SYSTEM_ADDRESS is a predefined Ethereum address (in hexadecimal notation) used for system-level operations. In the context of this EIP, SYSTEM_ADDRESS is responsible for performing the "set" operation on the beacon roots contract.

BEACON_ROOTS_ADDRESS (0x000F3df6D732807Ef1319fB7B8bB8522d0Beac02):

BEACON_ROOTS_ADDRESS is the Ethereum address where the beacon roots contract resides. This is where the beacon chain block roots are stored and can be accessed.

Design:

Beacon Black Roots

Cryptographic accumulator to Beacon Chain state.

Structured in merkle tree, support inclusion proofs.

Engine API in EVM:

How EL and CL communicate

Why not repurpose BLOCKHASH?

In the Ethereum network, the BLOCKHASH opcode is used to retrieve the hash of a specific Ethereum block. EIP-4788 suggests that the BLOCKHASH opcode could be repurposed to provide the beacon root instead of some execution block hash. However, the proposal argues against this approach for several reasons:

Minimizing Code Changes:

Repurposing BLOCKHASH would require making significant changes to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) code. This could lead to compatibility issues and require a complex migration process. By avoiding such extensive code changes, the proposal aims to maintain compatibility with existing smart contracts and simplify deployment to the mainnet.

Avoiding Smart Contract Disruption:

Many smart contracts may rely on the current behavior of BLOCKHASH to function correctly. Changing this opcode's functionality could disrupt these contracts, potentially causing unexpected issues. To maintain the stability and predictability of the Ethereum network, EIP-4788 suggests preserving the existing behavior of BLOCKHASH.

Simplifying Deployment:

Repurposing BLOCKHASH could introduce complexities in deployment. By leaving BLOCKHASH unchanged and adding new functionality for beacon root access, EIP-4788 ensures that the existing infrastructure remains intact. This approach is more straightforward and less prone to errors during implementation.

Why Two Ring Buffers?

Avoiding Attacks:

The use of a single ring buffer would expose the contract to a potential attack. If a skipped slot had the same value modulo the ring buffer's length, it could return an old root value, rather than the most recent one. By using two ring buffers, the proposal aims to nullify this attack and ensure that the correct, up-to-date root value is retrieved.

Verifying Timestamps:

With two ring buffers, the contract stores a pair of data for each index: the parent beacon block root and the associated timestamp. When a value is read from the buffers, the contract verifies that the timestamp matches the one originally used when writing the root data. This verification ensures data integrity and consistency.

Fixed Memory Footprint:

The Ethereum network has fixed-size storage slots (32 bytes), making it necessary to use two ring buffers to store both the root and timestamp data. The two-ring-buffer design allows for efficient use of storage resources while maintaining the security of the system.

Ring Buffer Size:

The size of the ring buffers is set to 8191 roots from the consensus layer. This number was chosen due to its prime nature, ensuring that no value is overwritten until the entire ring buffer has been saturated. It also guarantees that each value will be updated once per iteration, avoiding excessive storage consumption.

The implementation of EIP-4844 addresses the problem by providing a decentralized and trust-minimized method for accessing critical consensus-related information. This functionality is expected to enhance trust assumptions in various Ethereum applications, including those involving staking, smart contract interoperability, MEV mitigation, and more. In summary, EIP-4844 offers a solution that significantly improves the accessibility and reliability of beacon chain block data within the Ethereum ecosystem.

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