Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a 33% increase in the gas limit of the ETH network. This move could increase the network's transaction capacity, potentially reducing fees for end users, but could also increase operational costs for validators.
Ethereum blockchain users pay gas fees to have their transactions added to the network. The gas paid to execute a transaction is proportional to the computational complexity of the transaction. For example, a simple token swap costs less gas than initiating a complex lending position.
The gas limit refers to the total amount of gas that can be included in a single Ethereum block, which are bundles of transactions added to the Ethereum network at regular intervals. Increasing the gas limit will mean increasing the amount and complexity of transactions that can be added to a block.
Buterin made the gas increase suggestion during a Reddit “Ask Me a Question” session featuring the Ethereum Foundation Research group. “The gas limit has not been increased for nearly three years, which is the longest period in the history of the protocol,” Buterin said. he added.
In response to a commenter asking if Ethereum could “safely increase” its gas limit, Buterin proposed increasing the gas limit to 40 million gas units, which is a 33% increase over today’s 30 million limit.
An increase in Ethereum's gas limit would not require a significant update or “hard fork” to the network's core code. Instead, validators operating the network will be able to implement the change by adjusting certain parameters in their node software.
*This is not investment advice.