Ethereum, the leading smart contract platform, has significantly increased its network’s processing capacity, with the gas limit per block surging to 45 million units. This marks a 25% increase from the prior 36 million unit limit established in February 2025. The upgrade, activated at block number 22,968,004, reflects a collective move by the network’s validators to enhance scalability.
This crucial adjustment was driven by substantial community consensus, with nearly 50% of validators—representing close to 500,000 staked ETH addresses—signaling their support for the change. The gas limit, a critical metric for the blockchain, dictates the total computational effort allowed within each block. Consequently, a higher limit enables the network to process a greater number of transactions and smart contract operations concurrently.
Ethereum’s Scaling Strategy and Future Goals
Unlike major protocol overhauls, increasing the block gas limit does not necessitate a hard fork, simplifying its implementation. Validators can independently modify their node configurations when proposing new blocks. Once more than 50% of active validators signal their readiness, the network automatically adjusts the gas limit. This flexibility allows for agile responses to network demands and scaling needs.
This recent increment is not an isolated event but rather a continuation of Ethereum’s ongoing efforts to enhance its transaction throughput. The gas limit was previously set at 30 million, before being raised to 36 million in February of this year. Looking further back, a significant adjustment occurred in 2021, when the limit doubled from 15 million to 30 million units.
The current push to 45 million units is part of Ethereum’s broader scaling roadmap, signaling an aggressive pursuit of higher capacity. In the short term, validators are reportedly targeting a 60 million block gas limit. For the long term, the ambition extends even further, with a goal of achieving 150 million gas per block. This substantial increase is potentially achievable through the anticipated Fusaka hard fork, which is expected to integrate Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7935.
To safeguard the network’s integrity during these scaling advancements, developers have also implemented important security measures. For instance, EIP-7983 has been introduced to cap individual transaction gas usage at 16.77 million units. This safeguard is designed to mitigate the risk of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and ensure the overall stability and responsiveness of the network.
This continuous evolution of Ethereum’s gas limit underscores its commitment to maintaining its position as a leading decentralized platform capable of supporting a vast and growing ecosystem of applications and users. The increased capacity is vital for reducing transaction costs and improving user experience, benefiting developers and end-users alike. This strategic move is expected to bolster Ethereum’s competitive edge in the rapidly evolving blockchain landscape.