Ethereum is considered the second largest blockchain in the world. It allows you to create and run dApps using smart contracts. But to use these contracts, you have to pay network fees, called gas. These vary depending on demand and the complexity of operations. Gas is measured in gwei, a fraction of ether (ETH), Ethereum’s native crypto.
What is the gas limit?
The gas limit refers to the maximum amount of gas that validators agree to spend for process transactions and smart contracts in each Ethereum block. Validators are the people who produce the blockchain blocks.
The gas limit guarantees two things:
- the blocks are not too large;
- they do not slow down the Ethereum network.
The higher the gas limit, the higher the number of transactions and smart contracts per block. Which increases the throughput and capacity of the Ethereum network. This also involves a greater load on validator hardware and a higher risk of spam and attacks.
Why Increase Ethereum Gas Limit?
At a Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) on Reddit On January 10, 2024, the co-founder of Ethereum suggested increasing the gas limit by 33%. So she would pass from 30 million to 40 million gas per block.
Vitalik Buterin made this proposal in response to a question about the scalability of Ethereum. This is one of the main protocol challenges. According to Buterin, this increase could improve the throughput and capacity of the network. These have not changed for almost 3 years, the longest period in Ethereum history.
It could also reduce pressure on the network and provide more space for transactions and smart contracts. He specifies, however, that it would bea temporary measurepending the full deployment of the Ethereum 2.0 update.
The Ethereum blockchain today finds itself at a crossroads, between innovation and adaptation. The upcoming decision will influence its operation and its future.
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