Ethereum Increases Gas Limit to 60 Million Ahead of Fusaka Upgrade

Final preparations

Ethereum is approaching one of its most important weeks in years, marked by two landmark developments that will directly shape the network's performance , economic structure, and roadmap for the second half of the decade. For the first time in nearly four years, Ethereum core developers have agreed to increase the gas limit from 45 million to 60 million , significantly expanding block capacity.

At the same time, the ecosystem is entering the final stages of preparation for the Fusaka upgrade , a major protocol improvement designed to modernize execution efficiency, improve L2 interoperability , and solidify Ethereum ’s long-term role as a settlement layer for global finance.

These dual milestones place Ethereum at a critical inflection point – where technical development intersects with user demand, L2 scaling pressure, and fierce competition from high-throughput blockchains .

Gas Limit Increase After 4 Years

The gas limit determines the maximum computational effort that can be put into each block. Increasing this limit from 45M to 60M represents a 33% increase in throughput, allowing for more transactions and more complex operations per block. While modest compared to the throughput of highly optimized L1s like Solana or Sui , this increase is a significant policy shift for Ethereum —which has historically been conservative about block capacity due to concerns about node hardware requirements, state growth, and chain bloat.

But in 2025, some factors were adjusted:

• L2 expansion is complete , with rollup reducing congestion at the base layer.

• Node hardware has improved, with most validators running more efficient clients.

• Demand for block space has skyrocketed due to the advent of stablecoins , LRT , RWA payments , and high-value DeFi flows .

• Competitor ecosystems are actively pushing for improved throughput at the base layer.

Current policy consensus favors gradual capacity expansion — a recognition that Ethereum must ensure sufficient liquidity and transaction space at the base layer, while still relying on roll -ups to achieve industrial-scale throughput.

This is the first such expansion since the post-London era in 2021–2022. The delay reflects years of debate among core developers seeking to balance decentralization, validator inclusivity, and network security.

Fees - MEV - Validator Motivation

Base fees are likely to decrease in the short term, minimizing inconvenience for users and DeFi protocols that rely on timely execution. This is especially important as Ethereum faces increasing pressure from L2 alternatives that have successfully offloaded users but still require L1 data to be sent.

While lower base fees may reduce revenue immediately, higher throughput may increase the total ETH burned per EIP-1559 during periods of high usage. The net effect depends on market conditions: during periods of high demand, more transactions included means more burns, reinforcing the thesis of ETH's structural scarcity.

Meanwhile, MEV mining models may change. Larger block sizes reduce competition for placing orders in single-block auctions, but could also open up new arbitrage opportunities as more complex DeFi operations are included in a single block. Prospectors and builders will need to adjust their models to accommodate this new equilibrium.

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