# Memo: Blob Base Fee Floor EIP Comparison ## TL;DR * **EIP‑7762 is a quick, parameter‑only patch:** bump the MIN_BASE_FEE_PER_BLOB_GAS from 1 wei to 2²⁵ wei and zero‑out excess_blob_gas at the fork, so the fee market climbs out of “free blob” territory far faster. * **EIP‑7918 is a structural tweak:** force blob‑data costs to stay at least as expensive as the execution gas of the simplest blob‑carrying transaction, so the price signal never disappears when execution gas dominates. Both aim to smooth fee volatility after EIP‑4844, but they trade off neutrality, complexity, and how much they raise the floor price of blobs. ## What each proposal actually does **EIP‑7762 – “Raise the minimum”** • **Problem addressed:** With a 1 wei floor, it can take hundreds of near‑full blocks for the base fee to reach the real equilibrium when congestion suddenly appears — delaying price discovery and causing fee spikes later.  • **Mechanism:** Set MIN_BASE_FEE_PER_BLOB_GAS = 2²⁵ (≈ 1 cent per blob at today’s ETH price) and reset excess_blob_gas at fork time to avoid an immediate spike.  • **Status / reception:** Simple to implement, but some commenters see it as “short‑sighted” and “less credibly neutral” because the new floor is still arbitrary.  **EIP‑7918 – “Bound by execution cost”** • **Problem addressed:** When execution gas dominates, the blob base fee keeps dropping to 1 wei, so the auction loses its price signal and must crawl back up during the next demand surge.   • **Mechanism:** In calc_excess_blob_gas(), stop lowering the blob fee once TARGET_BLOB_GAS_PER_BLOCK * base_fee_per_blob_gas would fall below TX_BASE_COST * base_fee_per_gas. One extra if maintains fee parity.  • **Status / reception:** Praised as a more “neutral, future‑proof” floor that adjusts automatically with execution gas, though it adds logic and still sparks debate on whether a composite market would be even better.   **Pros & cons at a glance** ![](https://notes.ethereum.org/_uploads/HyivwHVkxe.png) *Note: the actual speed of price discovery depends on gas cost at the time of blob congestion.* **Which one should we pick?** • **Choose EIP-7762** if you seek the fastest and simplest solution to address prolonged fee ramp-ups. • **Opt for EIP-7918** if you prioritize a market-driven, execution-aware floor that remains neutral as Ethereum’s economics evolve. **References** EIP-7762 https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/blob/master/EIPS/eip-7762.md https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/eip-7762-increase-min-base-fee-per-blob-gas/20949 EIP-7918 https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/blob/master/EIPS/eip-7918.md https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/eip-7918-blob-base-fee-bounded-by-execution-cost/23271
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Davide Crapis
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MEV Resilient Ethereum

Thanks to Danny Ryan and Caspar Schwarz-Schilling for helpful feedback, additional thanks to Danny for inspiration & discussion on the concept of resiliency. Maximal extractable value (MEV) has emerged as one of the major threats to blockchain security and equity since the rise of DeFi. For the Ethereum blockchain, finding robust and future-proof solutions to the incentive problems induced by MEV, remains one of the major challenges before the project can be declared feature complete. The Flashbots project has pioneered MEV research in the Ethereum ecosystem and, working in conjunction with Ethereum Research, developed the mev-boost software as the standard interface between block proposers and builders. Thanks to the success of mev-boost and the first pillar of their strategy "illuminate [the dark forest of MEV]", which were radical in making mev-boost a public good for the ecosystem with open code & data, there is now a front of researchers and developers that are contributing to a MEV Resilient Ethereum. It is a movement that is larger than any organization or group. It could not be otherwise, since MEV poses such fundamental challenges to incentives in permissionless blockchains and it affects more or less directly every participant in the ecosystem (including new participants such as searchers and builders). Many organizations and community members are adding their contributions across the open source R&D stack: Code: mev-boost, relay, builder, and more. Data: mevwatch.info, relayscan.io, mevboost.pics, zeromev.org, ultrasound.money, eigenphi.io, and many others.

8/10/2023
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