TRON Hits Strategic Crossroads: To Deprecate or Not to Deprecate ‘SELFDESTRUCT’ Opcode

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Tron is at a crucial decision point. During the recent Core Development Community Call 14, there was much discussion about whether to retire the ‘SELFDESTRUCT’ function.

This proposed change to retire an opcode follows the trend of past Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) and carries substantial consequences for both developers and the TRON network’s security.

“Elton, a TRON Core Developer, explained that the intent of this TIP remains the same: allowing the community and developers ample time to prepare, as adjustments to this instruction will affect many areas. Therefore, making this declaration is still crucial.”

The ‘SELFDESTRUCT’ Opcode

The “SELFDESTRUCT” instruction allows a smart contract to destroy itself, thereby disappearing from the blockchain, granting gas rebates, and liberating storage space.

According to TRON Core Developer  Andy, “TIP-652 corresponds to EIP-6049, which was mentioned in the Shanghai upgrade. In the Cancun upgrade, the SELFDESTRUCT instruction was restricted to within a single transaction, greatly reducing its scope of use”.

At the recent Core Devs Community Call on April 11, 2024, #TRONICS invites you to join us as we explore the latest developments. Our focus is on preparing for the Ethereum Denver upgrade, with engaging conversations around the following topics:
🔹 The adaptation plans to the Ethereum Dencun upgrade🔹 Support the debug_traceCall API🔹 TIP-650: Implement…
— TRON DAO (@trondao) April 15, 2024

TIP 652 on the TRON network proposed a conversation about how to manage the ‘SELFDESTRUCT’ command and if it would be beneficial to adopt Ethereum’s gradual methodology.

A potential issue with TIP-652 is that the term “deprecate” might be misunderstood by developers and the community, leading them to think that TRON intends to completely eliminate the related command.

To clear up any possible confusion, TRON Core Developer Jake proposed using the word “adjust” in its place. This suggestion aligns more accurately with TRON’s aim to change the command rather than eliminating it altogether.

“If TRON aims to align with Ethereum and keep up with its developments, it might be more fitting to employ the term ‘adjustment’ rather than ‘deprecation’ in this proposal, suggested he.”

The Implications Deprecation

Depending on the context,

The Good

  • Improved Security: TRON could reduce attack risks in scenarios where smart contracts are deleted maliciously.
  • Improved Trust: Contract code effectively becomes immutable without the ability to be erased with the opcode.

The Bad

  • Gas Inefficiency: The opcode incentivizes devs to remove obsolete smart contracts by providing gas refunds.
  • Storage Inefficiency: The opcode makes it possible to reuse space occupied by obsolete smart contracts.

The Ugly

  • Regulatory Hurdles: Without the flexibility to retire/update smart contracts, immutability can prevent compliance with regulatory changes or requirements.
  • Potential Forks: Community consensus is required to deprecate opcodes. Disagreements can result in both soft and hard Forks in the blockchain.

Deprecation vs. Adjustment

Although EIP-6049 proposes Ethereum’s ‘SELFDESTRUCT’ opcode deprecation, this feature is still in use on Ethereum, but with considerable restrictions in terms of application.

TRON’s dedication to staying current with Ethereum’s advancements is reflected by its preference to refer to “adjustments” rather than “deprecation.” For the time being, any changes to the opcode will be tentatively implemented, with more extensive discussions taking place during future Core Dev Community Calls.

Starting from March 13, 2024, the Ethereum upgrade between Cancun and Deneb (referred to as Dencun) included a novel transaction type named “blobs”. These blobs allow rollup providers to store data more economically.

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2024-04-15 14:27