What the Heck Are EIPs and ERCs? A Beginner’s Guide to 4 Ethereum Upgrades You’ve Never Heard Of

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They might not trend on Crypto Twitter—but without them, Ethereum wouldn't run this smooth. - Allan Robinson

What Are EIPs and ERCs?

EIPs (Ethereum Improvement Proposals) are Ethereum’s official feature requests or improvements, typically targeting protocol-level changes (e.g., transaction formats, gas fees).
ERCs (Ethereum Request for Comments) are a subset of EIPs focused on smart contract standards, used to ensure compatible interfaces across dApps.

They emerged as community-driven blueprints to evolve Ethereum in a consistent, transparent, and coordinate-driven way.

History & Impact

• The EIP process began with EIP-1 in 2015 to formalize how Ethereum should evolve.

• Early successful proposals like EIP-20 (ERC-20) established core patterns for the ecosystem.

• Over time, new needs arose: better transaction gas efficiency, clearer contract interoperability, and fairer developer incentives.

• Thanks to EIPs and ERCs, Ethereum continues to grow backward-compatible while integrating new features without breaking older systems.

️ Deep Dive into 4 Selected Standards

1. EIP‑2930: Access Lists (Core / Transaction Format)

Overview

• Introduced in Berlin (2020) as part of a suite addressing storage cost spikes (alongside EIP-2929)

• Lets you pre-declare which contract addresses/storage slots your tx will access.

• Those slots are “pre-warmed” at lower cost, avoiding high “cold” access charges.

✅ Benefits

• Saves ~200 gas per storage access

• Reduces volatility and DoS attack risk from expensive cold storage.

❌ Drawbacks

• Requires users/devs to predict exactly which slots will be used—mistakes can cost more gas than savings.

• Adoption has been low: just ~1.5% of txs use it despite 42% potential benefit

⚙️ Analogy

Think of it like a grocery preorder: tell the store what you’ll need in advance and skip checkout lines—but if you order the wrong things, you wasted time and money.

2. EIP‑7547: Inclusion Lists (Core / Block Assembly)

Overview

• A new proposal letting block proposers force inclusion of specific transactions in a block, reducing censorship

• Especially useful for front-running, MEV-resistant applications.

✅ Benefits

• Enhances fairness and censorship resistance in the mempool.

• Empowers transaction originators to battle MEV-based exclusion.

⚠️ Considerations

• Still under development.

• Needs client & tooling support to become practical.

⚙️ Analogy

It’s like a VIP pass for users who want to ensure their ticket gets scanned even during rush hour.

3. ERC‑165: Interface Detection (Contract Interface Standard)

Overview

• Standardizes how contracts announce which interfaces they implement—used widely since 2018

• Contracts implement supportsInterface(bytes4 interfaceID) so others can detect capabilities.

✅ Benefits

• Enables dynamic compatibility checks for wallets/dApps.

• Avoids hard-coded assumptions, reducing risk of breakage.

❌ Drawbacks

• Needs explicit implementation—some contracts skip it to save gas.

• Only covers declared interfaces; doesn’t guarantee full compliance.

⚙️ Analogy

Like a software installer that checks if your system supports .NET 6 before installation—no surprises later.

4. EIP‑6969: Revenue-Sharing Contracts (ERC – Token & Wallet Standard)

Overview

• A new proposal for sharing transaction fees (beyond ETH’s built-in burn/tip) with contract creators

• Users opt-in to send a developer fee to the dApp creator on each use.

✅ Benefits

• Creates an incentive model for public dApps to be sustainable.

• Offers an optional “tip” model for open-source contract authors.

⚠️ Controversies

• May discourage usage if tips are high.

• Needs to balance opt-in vs auto-fee structures.

⚙️ Analogy

Like paying 10% tip for offline delivery services you trust—optional but appreciated.

Comparison Table

EIP/ERC	Category	Purpose	Adoption Status
EIP‑2930	Core / Tx	Improve gas for predefined access	Low adoption (\~1.5%)
EIP‑7547	Core / Blocks	Censorship resistance via inclusion lists	Early draft
ERC‑165	Interface	Standard method to declare support	Widely adopted (NFTs, tokens)
EIP‑6969	ERC / Payments	Revenue-sharing tips to contract authors	Emerging interest

Final Takeaways

• Access Lists (EIP‑2930) streamline gas costs—but you must think ahead.

• Inclusion Lists (EIP‑7547) will help fairness in transaction ordering, ideal for censor-resistant apps.

• ERC‑165 remains vital for automatic interface compatibility, powering wallet and dApp integrations.

• Revenue-sharing (EIP‑6969) introduces an open tipping model, potentially sustaining free-to-use contracts.

Why These Matter for Beginners

• Understanding why these standards were invented helps future developers reason about protocol design and usability, not just code.

• Seeing each EIP as a solution to a real problem—gas costs, censorship, interface detection, developer sustainability—makes you think like a protocol designer.

• Analogies keep concepts memorable and relatable.

Standards aren’t just code—they shape how Ethereum grows. - Allan Robinson