Multidimensional pricing, charging each resource separately
Strawmap I* (2028) · multidimensional pricing
Today, different resources such as computation, storage, and data size are bundled into a single gas and priced together. Multidimensional pricing sets a separate limit and price for each resource type and calculates each one independently.
Why it is needed
Ethereum converts all the resources a transaction uses into a single unit, gas. Computation, writing to storage, and the size of data attached to a transaction are merged into the same unit, and a block has only one total gas limit. So the limit has to be set conservatively for the worst case. This is because nodes must withstand a block that fills up with just one kind of resource. Ordinary blocks do not have such an extreme composition, so there is spare capacity that goes unused. There is also the problem that when one resource is congested, other resources become expensive too. Multidimensional pricing sets a limit and a price separately for each resource type. Since each resource's price rises and falls independently with demand, a rush on one resource does not affect the others. Blocks can safely be used at a larger size, so throughput also increases. EIP-4844, which gave blob data its own gas and price, is the first example, and this item is research into extending that approach to other resources. Strawmap places it in the I* fork slot, but that is only an expected position, not a commitment.
How it works
- Split the resources Resources of different natures, such as computation, transaction data, and state changes, are not merged into one gas but counted as separate kinds of gas.
- Set a limit and a target per resource For each block, a target usage and a maximum are set separately for each resource type. Even if one resource fills up, the space for the other resources remains.
- Prices move separately When a resource is used more than its target, only that resource's price rises, and when it is used less, the price falls. This is the same principle by which the EIP-1559 base fee moves.