Ethereum is taking another step towards scalability. Developers are working to increase the network’s gas limit, allowing more transactions to be processed per block. If everything goes according to plan, this limit will increase from 60 million to 80 million in January. This should ensure lower costs and a better user experience, without endangering the security of the network.
Ethereum wants to increase gas limit to 80 million
During a recent meeting of the Ethereum All Core Developers, it became clear that developers are preparing for the next increase in the gas limit. This is the maximum amount of computing power that can be used within one block on the Ethereum network. The higher the limit, the more transactions and smart contracts can be processed simultaneously.
According to a summary of the meeting, the network is almost technically ready for this step, which follows a planned upgrade on January 7.
Why a higher gas limit is important
A higher gas limit means that the network fills up less quickly. In practice, this can lead to lower transaction costs, especially during busy times. Users then have to pay less to have their transaction confirmed quickly.
The change does not necessarily make Ethereum faster than other blockchains, but it does increase its capacity. That’s important for applications like decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs, and other digital applications that run on Ethereum.
Developers remain cautious
While plans are largely set, developers at the Ethereum Foundation emphasize that some technical improvements are needed first. These optimizations should ensure that the network remains stable under higher loads.
That is why consultations will be held again at the beginning of January to definitively determine when the gas limit will actually be increased.
Ethereum chooses stability over speed
Even with a gas cap of 80 million, Ethereum won’t offer the same low fees or speed as some alternative blockchains, such as Solana. Ethereum consciously opts for a cautious approach, where decentralization and security remain central.
It is precisely these properties that make Ethereum attractive as a base layer for other networks and applications. Many so-called layer-2 solutions build on Ethereum because of this reliability.
Major upgrades planned in January
The gas limit increase follows a series of technical upgrades known as BPO hard forks. A first upgrade was implemented in December, with data storage capacity increasing by 66 percent. A second upgrade is planned for January 7, which should again provide a comparable expansion.
These improvements are mainly aimed at processing large amounts of data more efficiently.
What are blobs on Ethereum?
An important part of the upgrades are so-called blobs. These are large data files in which transaction information is temporarily stored outside the blockchain itself. This keeps the network clear and reduces costs.
Blobs are especially important for layer-2 networks, which enable fast and cheap transactions on top of Ethereum.
Gas limit has already been increased several times
The planned increase to 80 million fits in with a broader trend. In 2024, the gas limit has already been increased three times. At the beginning of February this increased from 30 to 35 million, in July to 45 million and at the end of November to 60 million.
Developers have stated that they want to scale the gas limit to 180 million by the end of 2026. This would greatly increase Ethereum’s processing capacity, while the network remains secure and decentralized.
With this approach, Ethereum continues to develop step by step into a scalable, reliable and future-proof blockchain network.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/ethereum-wil-meer-transacties-verwerken-met-hogere-gaslimiet/
