Data Availability Sampling Calculator
How Data Availability Sampling Works
Data availability sampling lets light clients verify transaction data by randomly checking a small fraction of it. The article states that 30-40 samples are typically needed to be 99.9% confident the full block is available.
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When you send a crypto transaction, you assume it’s recorded forever. But how do you know it actually was? In monolithic blockchains like Bitcoin or early Ethereum, every node downloads and checks every single transaction. That works fine when the network is small. But as usage grows, this model breaks. Nodes need more storage, more bandwidth, more power. Most users can’t run them anymore. And that’s exactly when data availability layers became essential.
What Is a Data Availability Layer?
A data availability layer (DAL) is a dedicated part of a modular blockchain that only does one thing: makes sure transaction data is published and accessible. It doesn’t process transactions. It doesn’t run smart contracts. It doesn’t settle payments. It just stores the raw data - the list of who sent what to whom - and proves it’s there.
Think of it like a public bulletin board. Every morning, a new notice is posted with all the transactions from the previous day. A data availability layer ensures that notice is physically posted, not hidden, and that anyone can check it’s real without reading every single line. That’s the core idea behind data availability sampling.
Before DALs, rollups - the main scaling solution for Ethereum - had a problem. They processed thousands of transactions off-chain but had to post all the data back on Ethereum. That got expensive. Gas fees spiked. The solution? Move the data storage off the main chain and into a layer designed just for that job.
How Data Availability Sampling Works
The magic behind data availability layers isn’t complex cryptography - it’s smart sampling. Instead of downloading a whole block of data (which could be megabytes), your phone or laptop downloads just 30 to 40 random pieces of it. If those pieces check out, you can be 99.9% confident the full block is available.
This works because of erasure coding. Before data is posted, it’s stretched out using math (Reed-Solomon codes). If you lose half the data, you can still rebuild the whole thing from the other half. So even if some nodes go offline or try to hide data, as long as enough fragments are out there, the system stays safe.
KZG polynomial commitments make this even more efficient. They let nodes prove, in just a few hundred bytes, that the data was correctly encoded. No need to recompute everything. Just verify the proof. That’s how light clients - devices with limited storage - can participate securely.
Before this, the only way to trust data was to download it all. Now, you can trust it by sampling a tiny fraction. That’s the breakthrough.
Celestia: The First Dedicated Data Availability Layer
Celestia launched its testnet in September 2021 as the first blockchain built solely for data availability. No execution layer. No smart contracts. Just data. And it works.
As of Q3 2023, Celestia handles about 1.25 MB per block. That’s over 10 times more than Ethereum’s current 90 KB limit. Its light nodes need only 1-2 GB of storage. Compare that to Ethereum full nodes, which now require over 1.2 TB. Celestia’s network achieved 99.98% uptime in 2023. Its throughput? 300-500 transactions per second. Not fast by traditional standards, but perfectly tuned for its job.
Developers building rollups on Celestia report 87% lower costs. But there’s a catch: tooling is still immature. Only 15 active rollups were live on Celestia by November 2023. Most developers still use Ethereum. Why? Because Ethereum has the users, the liquidity, the wallets. Celestia is a powerful engine - but it needs more cars.
Ethereum’s Path: Proto-Danksharding and the Future
Ethereum didn’t build a separate DAL. It’s upgrading its own chain. The plan, called proto-danksharding (EIP-4844), launches in Q2 2024. Instead of storing data directly in blocks, Ethereum will use ‘blobs’ - temporary, low-cost data containers.
These blobs won’t be readable by smart contracts. They’re just for data. That’s intentional. It keeps the execution layer simple. Ethereum will still handle consensus and settlement, but data storage becomes cheaper and faster. The Ethereum Foundation estimates this will cut rollup transaction costs by about 90%.
But it’s not simple. Integrating KZG commitments into Ethereum’s existing codebase has been a nightmare. As of November 2023, there were 123 open GitHub issues on the danksharding implementation. The delay from Q4 2023 to Q2 2024 shows how hard this is.
Still, the payoff is huge. Once live, Ethereum will handle up to 1.31 MB per block - enough to support 100,000 transactions per second. That’s not just scaling. It’s a new class of blockchain.
Off-Chain Alternatives: EigenDA and DACs
Not everyone wants to use Celestia or wait for Ethereum’s upgrade. Enter EigenDA and data availability committees (DACs).
EigenDA, built on EigenLayer, uses Ethereum’s existing security but stores data off-chain. In testnet benchmarks, it handled 100,000 transactions per second with costs as low as $0.0001 per transaction. That’s 10,000 times cheaper than Ethereum’s mainnet gas fees. But it’s still in testnet. Mainnet launch has been delayed, causing frustration for enterprise users.
DACs, like the ones used by StarkWare’s StarkEx, rely on trusted groups of validators to attest that data is available. It’s faster and cheaper than on-chain storage, but it’s not fully trustless. If the committee colludes, you’re vulnerable. That’s why DACs are used for enterprise apps - where trust is managed contractually - not for open DeFi.
Why Modular Blockchains Are Winning
Monolithic chains like Solana try to do everything fast. But they crash under pressure. Solana had seven major outages in 2022. Why? Because one component failing - say, the execution engine - brings down the whole chain.
Modular blockchains fix that. If your data layer goes down, your execution layer can pause and wait. If your execution layer has a bug, your data layer stays intact. That’s resilience.
And it’s growing fast. Messari reported that investment in data availability layers jumped from $25 million in 2021 to $420 million in 2022. By 2027, the market could hit $8.7 billion. Celestia holds 35% of the dedicated DAL market. Avail, Polygon’s modular layer, is targeting enterprise adoption. Coinbase and Binance have invested hundreds of millions into this space.
Challenges Still Ahead
Despite the progress, real-world adoption is slow. Developers say the biggest hurdle isn’t tech - it’s tooling. Most Ethereum devs know Solidity and EVM. Celestia uses Cosmos SDK. Only 12% of developers are comfortable with it. Documentation is better than it was, but still uneven. Celestia’s docs got 4.2/5 stars. EigenDA’s got 4.7/5. But neither is as polished as Ethereum’s.
Interoperability is another issue. Can a rollup on Celestia talk to one on EigenDA? Not yet. The Interchain Foundation just funded a $5 million project to fix that. Without standards, we’ll end up with isolated islands of data.
Regulation is coming too. The EU’s MiCA framework, effective December 2024, will require all blockchain transactions to have verifiable data availability. That’s not a suggestion - it’s a legal requirement. DALs aren’t just a technical upgrade anymore. They’re compliance infrastructure.
Who Should Care?
If you’re a developer building a dApp, you need to understand DALs. Your users will demand lower fees. Your app won’t scale without them.
If you’re an investor, DALs are the infrastructure layer behind the next wave of crypto growth. The companies building them aren’t just startups - they’re the new foundations of the web.
If you’re just a user, you won’t see the data layer. But you’ll feel its effects: faster transactions, cheaper fees, fewer crashes. That’s the real win.
Data availability layers aren’t flashy. They don’t have NFTs or meme coins. But they’re the quiet backbone making blockchains actually usable at scale. And that’s the most important upgrade crypto has seen in years.
What is the main purpose of a data availability layer?
The main purpose of a data availability layer is to ensure that all transaction data from a blockchain is published and accessible to network participants without requiring every node to download and verify the entire dataset. It solves the data availability problem by allowing light clients to verify data integrity through sampling, enabling scalable rollups and modular blockchain architectures.
How does data availability sampling work?
Data availability sampling lets light clients check if transaction data is available by randomly downloading 30-40 small pieces of a block. Using erasure coding, if those samples are valid, there’s a 99.9% chance the full block is intact. This removes the need to download megabytes of data, making blockchain participation feasible on phones and low-power devices.
What’s the difference between Celestia and Ethereum’s approach to data availability?
Celestia is a dedicated, standalone blockchain built only for data availability. It doesn’t execute transactions or run smart contracts. Ethereum, on the other hand, is adding data availability as a feature within its main chain using proto-danksharding (EIP-4844), which introduces temporary data blobs. Celestia offers higher throughput and lower node requirements, while Ethereum benefits from its existing security and user base.
Why are data availability layers important for rollups?
Rollups process transactions off-chain to save costs and increase speed. But they must post transaction data back on-chain to ensure security. Without a dedicated data availability layer, this data competes with other transactions for space on Ethereum, driving up gas fees. DALs provide cheap, high-capacity storage just for this data, making rollups viable at scale.
Are data availability layers secure?
Yes, when properly implemented. Security relies on cryptographic proofs (KZG commitments) and statistical sampling. Research from the University of Illinois confirmed the mathematical soundness of data availability sampling. However, security depends on parameters like sample size and network conditions. If too few samples are taken, or if a large portion of the network is compromised, the system could be vulnerable - which is why careful design is critical.
What are the biggest challenges facing data availability layers today?
The biggest challenges are immature tooling, lack of developer familiarity with non-EVM stacks (like Cosmos SDK), and poor interoperability between different DALs. While technical performance is strong, adoption is held back by complexity and fragmentation. Regulatory pressure from MiCA may help push standardization, but widespread use still requires better documentation, easier SDKs, and cross-chain bridges.
Tejas Kansara
25 11 25 / 11:25 AMThis is the quiet revolution no one talks about but everyone uses.
John Borwick
25 11 25 / 11:50 AMBeen running a light node on Celestia for months now. My old laptop doesn't cry anymore when syncing. The only thing missing is better docs and a wallet that doesn't feel like it's from 2017. Still, this is how it should've always been.
jocelyn cortez
27 11 25 / 00:34 AMI get why people are excited but I just want my transactions to go through without thinking about blobs or erasure coding. If I had to learn math to send ETH, I'd stick with PayPal.
Gus Mitchener
27 11 25 / 14:49 PMThe ontological shift here is nontrivial: we're decoupling consensus from data availability from execution - a trichotomy that finally dissolves the monolithic stack's inherent inefficiencies. KZG commitments enable information-theoretic guarantees without full verification, which is a paradigmatic leap beyond Merkle trees. This isn't scaling - it's rearchitecting trust.
Soham Kulkarni
27 11 25 / 21:21 PMcelestia is cool but why no one talk about how hard it is to build on it? i tried to deploy a simple rollup and spent 3 days just figuring out the rpc endpoints. ethereum devs just use metamask and move on. this feels like coding in 2015 again
Rajesh pattnaik
29 11 25 / 01:40 AMthe real win is that regular people can now run nodes on their phones. no more needing a server rack just to check if your transaction went through. thats huge for countries where internet is slow but phones are everywhere
Lisa Hubbard
30 11 25 / 17:42 PMLook, I read all of this and I'm just not convinced. If we're just moving data around and not actually doing anything with it, what's the point? It feels like we're building a fancy garage to store a car that never leaves the driveway. And don't even get me started on the gas fees going down - I've heard that song before. Every time they say 'this time it's different,' it turns out it's not.
Plus, who's to say these blob chains won't just become the new centralized mess? All these 'trustless' systems still rely on a handful of validators. And if one of them goes down? Poof. Your data's gone. Just like that. And we're supposed to trust math? Come on.
And don't even get me started on the environmental cost of all these new chains. Someone's gotta pay for the servers, and it's not the devs. It's us. In electricity. In carbon. In the long-term cost to the planet. We're trading one problem for another.
And why is no one talking about the fact that these layers are all siloed? If I'm on Celestia, I can't talk to EigenDA. If I'm on Ethereum, I can't talk to Celestia. We're building walls instead of bridges. And then we wonder why adoption is slow. It's because it's a mess.
And let's not forget the regulation angle. MiCA is coming, sure, but who's going to enforce it? The EU? The US? Who's liable when the data layer fails? The devs? The validators? The users? No one. That's who. And that's why I'm not buying it.
It's all just a fancy way to say 'we're still trying to fix what we broke.' And we're not fixing it. We're just adding more layers. More complexity. More confusion. And more people getting left behind.
So yeah. I'm skeptical. And I think most people should be too.
Jody Veitch
2 12 25 / 11:02 AMOf course Celestia is 'better' - it's not Ethereum. And that's the problem. You can't just slap a new chain on top and call it progress. Ethereum has 10 years of security, 100 million users, and a culture built on trust. Celestia is a glorified data dumpster with a whitepaper. And now we're supposed to trust it with trillions? This isn't innovation - it's recklessness dressed up as decentralization.
And don't even get me started on 'data availability sampling.' You're telling me I can trust my life savings on 40 random pieces of data? That's not security - that's gambling with math. And if the math fails? Good luck getting your money back from a bunch of anonymous validators in India or Russia.
Meanwhile, Ethereum is quietly fixing its own house. No need for sidechains. No need for 'dedicated layers.' Just upgrade the core. That's how you build infrastructure. Not by splintering it into a thousand fragments and calling it 'modular.' That's just fragmentation with a buzzword.
And the regulatory angle? MiCA? Please. The EU doesn't understand blockchain. They think it's just crypto. They'll regulate it into oblivion. And guess who gets crushed? The innovators. Not the banks. Not the big players. The little guys. Again.
This isn't progress. It's chaos with a roadmap.
Jenny Charland
3 12 25 / 16:49 PMso celestia is like 10x cheaper but no one uses it? 😂
also eigenDA is doing 100k tps for $0.0001? that’s not crypto that’s magic
who’s gonna pay for this? the devs? the users? the government? ðŸ˜
also why is everyone acting like this is new? we’ve been doing this since 2017 with sidechains. just call it zk-rollups and move on.
also why do i feel like this is just a VC pitch deck with a blockchain sticker on it?
preet kaur
4 12 25 / 10:57 AMin india we dont have powerful computers but we have phones. if i can run a node on my old redmi, that’s a win. no need to be a tech wizard to be part of this. thats real inclusion.
Emily Michaelson
4 12 25 / 20:28 PMOne thing people overlook: data availability isn’t just about cost - it’s about resilience. When Ethereum had its 2022 outages, the data layer stayed up. Rollups kept posting. The chain recovered because the data was still there. That’s the real win. Not the gas fees. Not the speed. The fact that the system doesn’t collapse when one part breaks.
And yes, tooling is bad. But it’s getting better. I spent three weeks learning Cosmos SDK last year. Now I’m helping onboard three other devs. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. And the community is small but deeply helpful. If you’re stuck, DM someone. Someone will help.
Also, the interoperability issue? It’s being worked on. The Interchain Foundation grant isn’t just a PR move - there are real teams building bridges. It’ll take time. But it’s happening.
And yes, MiCA is coming. But that’s not a threat. It’s a signal. Governments are starting to realize this isn’t a fad. It’s infrastructure. And infrastructure needs standards. We’re not going to be the wild west forever.
It’s messy. It’s complex. But it’s necessary. And honestly? I’m proud to be part of this.
Amanda Cheyne
6 12 25 / 00:21 AMyou think this is about data? think again. this is a government backdoor. they need to track every transaction. that’s why they’re pushing 'verifiable data availability.' they don’t care about scalability. they care about control. look at the timing - right after the crypto crackdowns. coincidence? i think not.
and who owns the KZG keys? not you. not me. some foundation in switzerland. that’s not decentralization. that’s centralized trust with a fancy name.
and the 'sampling' thing? if they can fake the samples, they can fake the whole chain. and no one will know until it’s too late.
they’re building a perfect surveillance system and calling it 'innovation.'
wake up.
Anne Jackson
6 12 25 / 23:45 PMLet me be clear: if you're building on Celestia, you're not building on blockchain - you're building on a glorified AWS S3 bucket with a blockchain sticker. Ethereum is the only real chain. Everything else is a toy. And if you think data availability layers are the future, you're ignoring the fact that Ethereum has 10x the security, 100x the users, and 1000x the liquidity.
And let's talk about 'modular' - that's just a fancy word for 'unreliable.' If one layer fails, the whole thing crumbles. That's not resilience. That's fragility with a marketing budget.
And don't get me started on the 'developers' who say 'it's just tooling.' No, it's not. It's a lack of vision. Ethereum is the only chain that matters. Everything else is noise.
And MiCA? Please. The EU doesn't know what they're regulating. They're just trying to catch up to the US. And when they do, they'll crush the little guys - just like they always do.
Stick with Ethereum. It's the only real option.
David Hardy
8 12 25 / 00:43 AMjust got my first celestia light node running on my raspberry pi 😎
it’s like having a crypto wallet that doesn’t need a supercomputer
also the devs are super chill on discord. no bs. just code.
if you’re scared of new tech - just try it. 10 mins. you’ll be hooked.
Matthew Prickett
9 12 25 / 02:46 AMthey’re not just storing data - they’re storing your identity. every transaction, every signature, every blob - it’s all traceable. they’re building a global ledger that can’t be erased. that’s not freedom. that’s digital slavery with a blockchain logo.
and who’s auditing these KZG proofs? the same people who told us ‘crypto is untraceable’? no. it’s the same banks. the same governments. the same entities that want to control everything.
you think you’re getting cheaper fees? you’re getting watched. and when they turn it off - your money disappears. because it was never yours to begin with.
the real scam isn’t the tech. it’s the belief that this is liberation.
Caren Potgieter
9 12 25 / 17:47 PMin south africa we dont have access to fancy servers but we have data on our phones. if i can verify my transaction without needing 2tb of storage? that’s freedom. no one talks about this but this is the real win for the global south
Jennifer MacLeod
11 12 25 / 02:52 AMthe fact that you can now run a node on a phone changes everything. i used to think crypto was for tech bros. now my mom checks her balance on her old iphone. no apps. no wallets. just a browser. that’s the future
Linda English
12 12 25 / 11:26 AMI just want to say - I really appreciate the depth of this post. It’s rare to see such a thoughtful, nuanced breakdown of such a technically dense topic. I’ve been reading about modular blockchains for months, and this is the first time I felt like I truly understood the architecture - not just the buzzwords.
It’s also worth noting how much care went into explaining the trade-offs: the tooling gaps, the interoperability issues, the regulatory uncertainty. Too often, these discussions are either overly optimistic or fear-mongering. This? This is balanced. This is honest.
And I think that’s what makes this so powerful. We’re not being sold a dream. We’re being given a roadmap - with potholes, detours, and construction signs. And that’s actually more trustworthy than any whitepaper that says ‘this will change everything.’
Thank you for writing this. I’m sharing it with my entire dev team tomorrow. We’re finally starting to build on Celestia.
asher malik
12 12 25 / 16:58 PMSo we’ve got Celestia doing 1.25MB blocks, Ethereum’s gonna hit 1.31MB with blobs, EigenDA claims 100k tps… but none of them can talk to each other? That’s not innovation. That’s a fragmented mess. And the worst part? The people who built these systems are all smart. They just don’t want to cooperate. Why? Because they’re all competing for funding. Not for users. Not for tech. For VC money. And that’s why adoption is slow. Because we’re not building a network - we’re building a zoo of competing silos. And the users? They’re just the animals in cages, wondering why they can’t move between enclosures.
And don’t even get me started on the KZG stuff. It’s elegant. It’s mathematically beautiful. But if the trusted setup is compromised - and we have no way to verify it - then all this elegance is just a house of cards. And someone’s gonna blow it up. Probably with a regulatory subpoena.
Modular is the future. But only if we stop treating it like a startup pitch and start treating it like infrastructure. And right now? We’re still in the startup phase. And that’s scary.