Solana strengthens its ceiling at a time when Ethereum simplifies its entry point. Two updates published almost at the same time, which however do not attack the same problem. The Solana blockchain is targeting Wednesday to triple the maximum size of a transaction, from 1,232 to 4,096 bytes, a technical development dubbed Transaction v1. At the same time, a tweet confirmed that Ethereum had validated EIP-8141 for its next major upgrade, Hegotá, planned for 2027 where crypto users will be able to pay their transaction fees directly in stablecoin. This, without holding ETH. Two competing networks, two strategic projects, and a balance of power that shifts on two distinct fronts.
In brief
- Solana strengthens its technical ceiling to catch up with one of Ethereum’s historical strong points.
- Ethereum, for its part, is preparing a radical simplification of the user experience when paying for gas.
- The two networks are not catching up in the same way: each is filling its own historical weakness, on a different timetable.
Solana increases its transaction cap from 1,232 to 4,096 bytes
The change to the transaction cap on Solana is defined by two proposals, SIMD-0296 and SIMD-0385, co-authored by Jacob Creech and Andrew Fitzgerald. The new format is already running on Solana’s test and development networks, and existing formats will continue to work. Crypto wallets and applications will therefore not need to migrate to v1, unless they need this additional space.
The old limit of 1,232 bytes dates back to Solana’s original network design, where each crypto transaction had to fit into an internet data packet of around 1,280 bytes. A constraint that the blockchain has made largely obsolete by modifying its traffic transmission in 2022. The new limit therefore stops at 4,096 bytes because four kilobytes correspond to the standard memory page size used by the validators’ hardware. Going further would force a transaction to be spread over several pages, and would make its processing more expensive.
The current issue goes beyond simple technical prowess because Solana has always been faster and cheaper than Ethereum. But blockchain lagged behind on one specific point: its rigidly capped transactions, where Ethereum imposes no protocol size limits and lets developers execute massive operations for higher fees. By tripling its ceiling, Solana therefore closes a good part of this historic gap.
What does the new transaction limit unlock on Solana?
Here’s what could now fit in a single transaction and with a single fee instead of several.
- Operations which until now had to be split into several transactions;
- Large crypto proofs;
- Payments requiring numerous approvals;
- Certain confidential transfers.
The change, however, has a downside because all software that reads the blockchain (wallets, explorers, trading applications) must be updated to recognize the new v1 format. A non-updated service may see its requests fail when faced with a transaction in the new format. Or worse, display a priority fee at zero even though a user has actually paid one, this data now being stored elsewhere. Heavier crypto transactions also consume more network bandwidth, which could push users to offer higher priority fees during times of congestion.
SOL VS Ethereum: two completed delays, two opposing schedules
Where Solana makes up for a gross technical handicapEthereum is tackling a handicap of a completely different order which is the obligation to hold ETH just to interact with its own network. An adoption barrier identified for years, but the correction of which will only happen with the Hegotá upgrade in 2027. Vitalik Buterin himself resituated EIP-8141 as the culmination of ten years of work on account abstraction. A way of saying that this is not a one-off fix but an extension of a project that has been going on since the beginnings of the crypto network.
The balance of power is therefore played out on two different levels and not at the same tempo because Solana repairs a technical weakness immediately, which brings it mechanically closer to Ethereum in terms of the complexity that it can absorb. Ethereum, for its part, does not seek to compete on raw capacity. No, it aims to make its network more accessible to crypto users who have never had to understand what ETH is, but it is doing so over a period of a year and a half. Solana is catching up and Ethereum is creating a new side of simplicity. Provided of course that he respects his schedule.
Things to remember about Solana tripling its transaction size
- Solana targets Wednesday to triple its transaction cap, from 1,232 to 4,096 bytes, via Transaction v1 (SIMD-0296 and SIMD-0385)
- Crypto wallets, explorers and services that read Solana need to update to avoid errors or incorrect fee data
- Ethereum has confirmed EIP-8141 for its Hegotá upgrade (2027), allowing gas to be paid in stablecoin without holding ETH
Two networks, two projects, two calendars. Solana is repairing its raw capacity this week, where Ethereum (ETH) is aiming for accessibility, but not before 2027. In terms of the balance of power between the two chains, it is the tempo that will make as much of a difference as the technique itself.
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