The perception of Ethereum's transaction throughput has long been stuck in the past. Many still remember it as a network capable of only 15 transactions per second (TPS). But that picture is outdated. Thanks to continuous protocol improvements, Ethereum’s peak TPS has now reached approximately 60, marking a 4x increase in performance.
While this evolution is the result of years of incremental upgrades, the most immediate driver behind the improvement lies in a simple yet powerful adjustment: raising the network’s Gas Limit — first from 15 million to 36 million, and now, potentially, to 60 million.
What Is the Gas Limit?
Every Ethereum user pays gas fees to execute transactions or smart contracts. The Gas Limit refers to the maximum amount of gas that can be consumed in a single block. A higher limit means more transactions can fit into each block, effectively increasing the network’s capacity and speed.
Among various scaling strategies — including rollups, sharding, and compression techniques — increasing the Gas Limit stands out as the most immediate and operationally simple solution. Unlike complex protocol overhauls, it doesn’t require a hard fork or major code changes.
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This is because the Gas Limit is a dynamic parameter under Ethereum’s current Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. Block producers can adjust it slightly — up or down — relative to the previous block, within a ±1/1024 range. This built-in flexibility allows gradual network-wide shifts without formal upgrades.
In contrast, networks like Bitcoin fix their block size (e.g., 1MB), making such adaptive tuning impossible. Ethereum’s design enables organic evolution driven by validator consensus.
How the Gas Limit Upgrade Works — No Hard Fork Needed
The process of raising the Gas Limit is both elegant and decentralized. Validators signal their support by setting a higher limit in the blocks they produce. As more validators adopt this change, the network naturally converges toward the new standard.
With over 1 million active validators on Ethereum, coordination is challenging — but not impossible. Currently, around 15% of validators have already begun supporting a 60 million Gas Limit. While this falls short of full adoption, it reflects growing confidence in the network’s ability to handle increased load.
Notably, this transition is voluntary. Some validators continue operating at lower limits (e.g., 30 million), often due to hardware constraints or risk-averse configurations. However, as client optimizations mature and infrastructure improves, broader alignment becomes feasible.
Why Would Validators Support a Change That Reduces Their Income?
Here’s a paradox: higher Gas Limits likely reduce validator earnings.
Since the implementation of EIP-1559, most base fees are burned rather than paid to validators. Validators now earn primarily from priority fees (tips) users add to expedite transactions.
When the Gas Limit increases:
- More transactions fit per block
- Network congestion decreases
- Competition for inclusion drops
- Priority fees shrink
As a result, validators may earn less per block — even as overall network utility improves. This makes those supporting the 60 million Gas Limit incentive-aligned with long-term network health, rather than short-term profit.
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In essence, these validators are prioritizing scalability and user experience over personal gain — a testament to Ethereum’s resilient governance culture.
The Limits of Expansion: EIP-9698 and Real-World Constraints
Ambition doesn’t stop at 60 million. A recent proposal, EIP-9698, has sparked debate by suggesting a dramatic rise in the Gas Limit — from 36 million to 3.6 billion over four years. If realized, this could push Ethereum’s TPS toward 2,000, rivaling high-performance chains like Solana.
But such a leap faces serious practical barriers.
Ethereum’s strength — its vast decentralization — also constrains its scalability. With over 1 million geographically distributed validators, every node must download and verify each block. In contrast, high-throughput chains often rely on dozens or hundreds of powerful centralized nodes.
Even the proposed jump to 60 million Gas has measurable effects. According to research by ethpandaops, blocks at this level take slightly longer to propagate — though 90% are discovered within 1,016 milliseconds, which remains acceptable.
However, Ethereum enforces a stricter rule: 66% of nodes must fully receive and validate a block (including blob data) within 4 seconds for it to be considered valid. Simulations suggest that, under current architecture, the theoretical safe上限 (upper bound) for Gas Limit is around 150 million.
Thus, EIP-9698’s vision of 3.6 billion is not feasible in the short term without fundamental changes to data availability and node specialization.
Future Paths: Could Node Specialization Enable Further Scaling?
One potential solution lies in introducing tiered node roles — a “large node / small node” model.
Imagine:
- Nodes staking 2048 ETH handle full blocks and high-load execution
- Standard 32 ETH validators process lighter tasks or rely on data availability sampling
Such a structure could offload bandwidth-intensive operations from smaller participants while preserving decentralization. It aligns with ongoing efforts like danksharding, where specialized proposers and builders separate responsibilities.
While still speculative, this direction could unlock future Gas Limit increases beyond today’s physical constraints.
Ethereum Is Becoming Faster, Cheaper, and More Accessible
It’s common to joke that Ethereum’s “Gas Price” has fallen so low it’s no longer a “noble chain.” But this shift isn’t just about market cycles — it reflects real technical progress.
Behind the scenes, Ethereum is becoming:
- More scalable through dynamic parameter tuning
- More efficient via EIP-1559 and PoS optimization
- More inclusive, lowering barriers for users and developers
The move toward a 60 million Gas Limit is not revolutionary — but it’s significant. It shows that Ethereum can evolve incrementally, without disruption, while balancing performance and decentralization.
And as infrastructure matures, even bolder upgrades may become viable — not through forks or forced consensus, but through patient, community-driven progress.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Does raising the Gas Limit require a hard fork?
A: No. The Gas Limit is a dynamic parameter adjustable within existing PoS rules. Validators signal changes incrementally, allowing smooth network-wide adoption without protocol upgrades.
Q: Will higher Gas Limits make ETH transactions cheaper?
A: Generally yes. Increased capacity reduces congestion, lowering competition for block space and decreasing priority fees — especially during peak usage.
Q: Can anyone become a validator if the Gas Limit increases?
A: Yes, but hardware requirements may tighten. Validators need sufficient bandwidth and storage to handle larger blocks. However, client optimizations help maintain accessibility.
Q: How does EIP-1559 affect validator revenue when Gas Limits rise?
A: Since most base fees are burned under EIP-1559, validators rely on tips. Higher limits reduce congestion, which typically leads to lower tips — meaning validators may earn less despite processing more transactions.
Q: Is there a maximum safe Gas Limit for Ethereum?
A: Based on current network conditions and propagation delays, studies estimate the safe upper bound at around 150 million. The proposed 60 million target is well within this range.
Q: What is the relationship between Gas Limit and TPS?
A: Higher Gas Limits allow more transactions per block, directly increasing TPS potential. At 60 million Gas, Ethereum could sustainably support up to ~60 TPS under normal conditions — with spikes much higher.
Core Keywords: Ethereum, Gas Limit, TPS, scalability, Proof-of-Stake, EIP-1559, network upgrade, blockchain performance