The blockchain industry's shift from monolithic structures to modular architectures has revolutionized the way decentralized networks process data and maintain security. According to in-depth analysis from Tan Phat Digital, at the heart of this shift is the Data Availability Sampling (DAS - Data Availability Sampling) technique, a breakthrough solution that allows solving the "Impossible Trinity" problem (Blockchain Trilemma) by separating data verification from downloading the entire block data. As of early 2026, DAS is no longer a theoretical concept but has become an implementation platform in important Ethereum upgrades such as Fusaka and specialized protocols such as Celestia or Avail. The analysis below will comprehensively examine the technical mechanism, economic context, and strategic importance of DAS in shaping the future of Web3.
The nature of the data availability problem in decentralized systems
To clearly understand why Data Availability Sampling is important, it is first necessary to clearly define the data availability problem (Data Availability - DA) in the blockchain context. DA is more than just data storage; it is a guarantee that all transaction data needed to verify the validity of a block has been published to the entire network and is accessible to anyone. In traditional blockchain systems, every full node must download the entire block data to check whether transactions comply with the protocol's rules. However, this requirement creates a major barrier to scalability. If block sizes increase to support more transactions, the bandwidth and memory requirements for nodes also increase, leading to only entities with large resources being able to operate the nodes, thereby compromising the decentralization of the network.
The most serious risk associated with DA is the Data Withholding Attack. In this scenario, a block producer can publish a valid block header but keep part of the transaction data inside private. Without complete data, validating nodes cannot create fraud proofs or validity proofs, making it impossible for the network to prevent illegal transactions, such as unauthorized withdrawals from Layer 2 solutions. Data Availability Sampling appears as a mathematical solution that allows light nodes to confirm data availability with extremely high reliability while only downloading a very small portion of the data. block data, thereby maintaining security while still allowing the network to expand throughput.
See more: What is Interoperability? The future of Blockchain connectivity in 2026
Technical mechanism and mathematical foundation of Data Availability Sampling
Data Availability Sampling is based on a sophisticated combination of two cryptographic and mathematical techniques: Erasure Coding and Polynomial Commitments.
Erasure Coding and Data Redundancy
Encryption erasure is a mathematical method that allows an original data set to be expanded into a larger data set with redundancy, so that the entire original data set can be recovered from any subset of the extended data. In blockchain applications, Reed-Solomon erasure coding is often used to double the data size. For example, if a block has $k$ parts of data, it will be expanded to $n = 2k$ parts.
The important feature of erasure encryption in DAS is that it forces an attacker who wants to retain even a small portion of the original data to retain a very large portion (usually more than 50%) of the entire encrypted data. This facilitates probabilistic checking: instead of having to check where 1% of data is missing, nodes now only need to check whether the extended data block is severely missing.
Random sampling process and detection probability
In the DAS process, a light node randomly requests a small number of data fragments (samples) from an erasure-coded block. If the node receives a full set of valid samples, it can assert with high confidence that the entire block data is available in the network. The efficiency of this method increases exponentially based on the number of samples taken.
The probability formula for a light node not to detect data retention after $s$ independent sampling, assuming the attacker retains 50% of the data, is expressed as follows:
$$P(\text{failure}) = (1/2)^s$$
As the number of $s$ samples increases, the probability of failure drops to an extremely low level. For example, with 30 samples, the probability that an attacker can fool a light node is less than 1 in a billion.
KZG Polynomial Commitment and Sample Integrity
To prevent block producers from providing junk data during sampling, the network uses cryptographic commitments. Below is a detailed comparison between currently used data commitment methods:
KZG Commitment:
Proof size: Fixed ($O(1)$).
Setup required: Trusted Setup required.
Amount element: No.
Testing cost: Very low.
FRI (STARK-based):
Proof size: Logarithmic ($O(\log^2 n)$).
Setup required: Not needed (Transparent).
Quantum resistance: Yes.
Testing cost: Average.
IPA (Inner Product Argument):
Proof size: Linear ($O(n)$).
Essential requirements establishment: No need (Transparent).
Quantum resistance: No.
Verification cost: High.
The choice of KZG provides optimal verification performance for lightweight nodes, allowing thousands of nodes to participate in sampling simultaneously without burdening the network. However, alternatives such as FRI are being considered for the post-quantum future of blockchain.
See also: Ethereum What is 2.0 and the Fusaka Upgrade Roadmap: Strategic Impact on ETH Price
Danksharding Roadmap and the Evolution of Ethereum
Danksharding is the ultimate data sharding design of Ethereum that turns it into a truly powerful DA layer. Instead of splitting the blockchain into separate chains, Danksharding uses a huge common data space verified through DAS.
Proto-Danksharding (EIP-4844) and Blobs
Deployed from early 2024, this upgrade introduces "blobs" – large, temporary pockets of data that are much cheaper than traditional calldata. Blobs enable Layer 2 Rollups to post transaction data to Ethereum at low cost, reducing transaction fees for end users to less than $0.10. However, Proto-Danksharding still limits scalability to 3-6 blobs per block due to the need to download the entire data.
PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling) in the Fusaka upgrade
In early 2026, the Fusaka upgrade officially brought PeerDAS (EIP-7594) to the main network. PeerDAS takes advantage of a peer-to-peer (P2P) network structure to perform decentralized data sampling:
2D Erasure Coding: Data is arranged into a matrix and encrypted in rows/columns to increase security.
Data Columns: The data matrix is divided into 128 columns, each node responsible for storing a certain number of columns.
P2P Network Sampling:Nodes query columns of data from partners, helping to confirm the availability of tens of megabytes of data without downloading the entire thing.
Thanks to PeerDAS, Ethereum raised the blob target to 14 in early 2026, supporting more than 100,000 transactions translations per second across the entire Layer 2 ecosystem.
Modular Data Availability Layers: Celestia, Avail and EigenDA
The market for specialized DA layers has exploded in 2026 with different economic and performance characteristics:
Ethereum Blobs:
DA Throughput: ~1.33 MB/s (14 blobs).
Average fee (1 MB): ~$3.83.
Security model: Native L1 Proof-of-Stake.
Market share: Highest (serving large L2s).
Celestia (Matcha Upgrade):
- portion: ~50% of Independent Rollups.
EigenDA:
DA Throughput: 10 MB/s - 100 MB/s (Optional).
Average Charges (1 MB): Low (Based on plans Tier).
Security model: Shared Security (Restaked ETH).
Status: Growing strongly thanks to the Restaking ecosystem.
Avail:
DA Throughput: ~0.2 MB/s (Basic) facility).
Average fee (1 MB): Very low.
Security model: Sovereign NPoS.
Status: Strongly expanding in the Multichain segment.
Distinguishing the concept of DA Layer in Blockchain and Digital Marketing
Tan Phat Digital notes that it is necessary to clearly distinguish two concepts with similar names but completely different functions:
Blockchain DA Layer: Is a decentralized system distributed over thousands of nodes, using cryptography to ensure transaction data is always available for network security verification.
Marketing Data Layer: Is a structure An intermediate data structure (usually a JavaScript object) that sits between the website and tag management tools like Google Tag Manager. It is used to store user behavior information (product names, prices) to support marketing analysis and personalization.
The core difference lies in decentralization and intended use: one side addresses infrastructure security, the other side addresses application efficiency.
Economic and performance impact on the Layer 2 ecosystem in 2026
The introduction of DAS has renewed completely define the cost structure. After the Fusaka upgrade, transaction fees on Layer 2s such as Arbitrum, Optimism and Base have decreased to almost zero (less than 0.01 USD).
Performance and economic details of typical Layer 2s (Data 2025-2026):
Base: Revenue will reach about 75.4 million USD in 2025, accounting for 80% TVL in Superchain, using Ethereum Blobs.
Arbitrum: Major contribution to the DeFi ecosystem through Orbit, using Ethereum Blobs.
Manta Pacific: Outstanding cost savings thanks to switching to Celestia.
Eclipse: One of the emerging projects with the strongest growth on the platform Celestia platform.
New security risks and challenges
Despite great benefits, DAS still faces challenges:
Sybil attack: Attackers can operate multiple rogue nodes to take control of sampling subnets.
Quantum computing: Possible KZG commitments threatened. Ethereum is working on moving to quantum-resistant methods like STARK.
ZK-EVM Security:The Ethereum Foundation has set a roadmap to achieve full 128-bit security by the end of 2026 (H-star Milestone) with a proof size under 300 KB.
Future Outlook 2027-2030
Look In the future, DAS will usher in the era of "Agent Economy", where millions of machine-to-machine transactions take place every second at extremely low costs. In January 2026, Vitalik Buterin announced that the impossible trinity had been officially solved in executable source code. Ethereum is expected to further increase the gas limit to 150 million or higher during 2027-2028, bringing blockchain performance on par with centralized systems.
10 Frequently Asked Questions about Data Availability Sampling (DAS)
What exactly is Data Availability Sampling (DAS)? DAS is a technique that allows nodes to The blockchain network validates the data of a fully published block without having to download the entire block. The node only needs to take a few small random samples to determine data availability with high mathematical confidence.
Why is DAS important for blockchain scaling? It solves the bandwidth bottleneck. Instead of requiring every node to load massive amounts of data, DAS allows for increased block sizes (and transaction throughput) while keeping hardware requirements for nodes low, maintaining decentralization.
How does Ethereum's PeerDAS differ from other DAS solutions? PeerDAS leverages Ethereum's existing peer-to-peer (P2P) network infrastructure to distribute and sample data. It uses a 2D matrix structure and divides data into columns, assigning storage responsibilities to nodes based on their identifiers.
What role do Blobs play in this mechanism? Blobs (Binary Large Objects) are temporary data packets designed specifically for Layer 2. DAS allows the network to support more blobs (up to 14-32 blobs) without overloading the cells. authentication button.
How does DAS ensure bad guys don't commit fraud with junk data? The system uses Polynomial Commitment (like KZG). When a node takes a sample, it receives an accompanying cryptographic proof that confirms the data sample actually belongs to the committed block, preventing block producers from providing fake data.
Does DAS help reduce gas fees for users?Yes, a lot. By reducing the cost of posting Layer 2 data to Layer 1, DAS helps reduce transaction fees on networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base to almost zero (typically under $0.01 USD).
What is the difference between Celestia and other DA layers? Celestia is a specialized blockchain purely for DA, with no smart contract execution. Meanwhile, EigenDA leverages security from ETH staking, and Avail focuses on serving various blockchain ecosystems.
Is data in DAS stored permanently? No. In Ethereum's design, blob data is only stored temporarily (about 18 days). The goal of DA is to ensure data is available long enough for anyone to check the block's validity, not to store history forever.
What is the biggest risk of DAS?The main risk is a Sybil attack, where one entity controls too many nodes in a subnet, potentially preventing data recovery. Additionally, current KZG commitments are not yet quantum resistant.
When will we see the full potential of DAS? According to the roadmap, 2026 is a pivotal year for PeerDAS and ZK-EVM. However, full optimization to reach "Full Danksharding" and support millions of transactions per second is expected to be completed between 2027-2030.
Data Availability Sampling is more than just a bandwidth optimization technique; it is a paradigm shift in decentralized system design. The team of experts at Tan Phat Digital believes that DAS is the infrastructure that allows Web3 to transform from a speculative market to an operating platform for large-scale practical applications. Understanding DAS is key for businesses and investors to successfully navigate the potentially modular blockchain world of this decade.
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