Addressing the persistent challenge of network capacity, the Ethereum community is evaluating innovative approaches to enhance transaction throughput directly on its foundational layer. A notable concept gaining attention seeks to systematically increase the network’s processing power over time.
Proposed Automated Gas Limit Scaling
A specific proposal, designated EIP-9698 and authored by researcher Dankrad Feist, outlines a mechanism for automatically increasing Ethereum’s gas limit. Instead of relying on manual adjustments, this plan suggests an exponential growth trajectory. The core idea involves predictable tenfold increases in the gas limit occurring every two years.
If implemented, this schedule would commence in mid-2025, aiming for a hundredfold expansion of network capacity within a four-year timeframe. This would potentially elevate the gas limit from its current level of approximately 36 million to a substantial 3.6 billion. According to developer Fabrice Cheng, such an expansion could enable Ethereum to process roughly 2,000 transactions per second (TPS) on its base layer.
Feist acknowledges that such significant scaling is not without potential difficulties. Concerns include potentially slower block propagation across the network and increased strain on nodes with lower hardware specifications. However, the proposal’s proponent argues that the structured, gradual nature of the increase would provide the ecosystem sufficient time to adapt technologically, mitigating risks to network stability.
Ethereum’s Scaling Landscape
This proposal emerges amidst ongoing exploration by Ethereum developers into various scaling solutions. It stands alongside other initiatives, such as a suggestion to raise the gas limit to 150 million during the anticipated Fusaka hard fork later this year.
Despite its prominence, Ethereum’s base layer currently processes transactions more slowly compared to newer blockchain platforms like Solana and Sui. While Layer 2 scaling solutions such as Optimism and Arbitrum have effectively alleviated network congestion, some observers express concerns that over-reliance on these external layers could lead to issues like ecosystem fragmentation and potential centralization risks. Boosting the core performance of Layer 1 directly is seen by some as a crucial step for Ethereum to maintain its competitive edge, offering high throughput without compromising its foundational principle of decentralization – a key differentiator against faster, potentially less secure alternatives.
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