Discussion thread for Add EIP: SLOT precompile by Marchhill · Pull Request #9141 · ethereum/EIPs · GitHub
This EIP proposes to add a new precompile that returns the corresponding slot for the current block.
It is currently possible to calculate the slot number from the block timestamp. However, this requires hardcoding the chain slot length into a smart contract. This would require the contract code to be changed in the event of a future change to slot length. A better approach is for the slot number to be calculated by the execution layer and exposed in a precompile.
This precompile aims to improve support for encrypted mempools. In order to be secure, the validity of encrypted mempool transactions should be tied to the inclusion of all transactions by a proposer in the correct slot. This rule can be enforced by a smart contract using this precompile.