Ethereum is about to take a technical step with deep implications: raise the gas limit by 66%, from 36 to 60 million units. Beyond the numbers, it is a structural decision that touches the heart of the protocol: its ability to process more transactions, more contracts and more interactions, without sacrificing decentralization.
The update, driven by the main developer Parithhosh Jayanthi and with support of key figures such as Justin Drake and Eric Conner, has already been successfully tested in the Sepolia and Holesky test networks. If everything is going as planned, Ethereum will execute the change directly on his mainnet.
But what really means raising the gas limit? And why now?
Understanding gas: it is not just “fuel”, it is structure
In Ethereum, the “gas” measures how much computational work an operation requires: from sending ETH to interact with a protocol defined or nft. He gas limit per block Determine how many operations fit in a unit of time (a block).
More gas per block means:
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More transactions per second.
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Less congestion.
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Potentially, lower commissions.
But it also implies more load for validated nodes, which must process and store more data. That is why it is not about tightening a button, but about reaching a Social and Technical Agreement Among the actors on the network.
The context: the pressure to climb without sacrificing decentralization
Since the emergence of decentralized applications and NFT, Ethereum has lived between two fires: the growing demand for space and the cost of maintaining the open and safe network.
Layer 2 solutions have helped decongest, but Vitalik Buterin himself has repeatedly defended the need to strengthen the base layer: “L2 solutions are not an excuse to neglect the capacity of the main protocol,” he said in his blog.
With this extension, Ethereum seeks to do both:
And this combination can be the key to sustaining the long -term ecosystem.
What changes for users?
Although the effects will vary according to network activity, estimates such as PumpTheGas They point to one 10% to 30% reduction in commissions of layer 1. It is a tangible relief for those who interact with complex contracts or send assets in high demand moments.
In addition, this is the Second gas extension in 2025. The previous one, in February, raised the limit of 30 to 36 million, marking the first adjustment from 2021. The current change goes much further, with an acceleration that reflects not only need, but also technical trust.
Validators in favor: consensus and action
The support is not limited to the technical level. Almost 80% of the validators They have already expressed support for the increase. More than 10,000 nodes have updated their parameters and are ready to implement the new limit.
Figures like Justin Drake not only support, but already have their prepared nodes. Eric Conner has called the community to act with a vision of the future, warning that limiting gas by fear could end up strangling innovation.
This consensus is also aligned with historical positions of researchers such as Thanks to Feistwho has advocated expanding Ethereum’s basic capacity as a matter of technical principle.
A delicate balance: risk, efficiency and vision
Expanding the gas limit is not exempt from risk. Increasing the computational volume per block could require more resources to the nodes, potentially affecting decentralization if operating a validator becomes too expensive.
However, the evolution of tools such as Shredded treesprogressive migration towards lighter customers and improvements introduced with updates such as PectraThey open a window of opportunity. Ethereum not only wants more capacity: he wants efficient capacity.
Ethereum sharpens its architecture for what is coming
This new gas limit is not a mere technical expansion. It is a statement of intentions: Ethereum wants to be prepared for the future that is already happening.
In an ecosystem where each technical decision is also political, this change marks a turning point. The network is strengthened from its nucleus, without expecting the external layers to absorb all the pressure.
If you manage to maintain decentralization while increasing its capacity, Ethereum will not only be more scalable, but also more faithful to its original mission: be the open and universal basis of the new digital economy.
