Ethereum Developers Advocate for Gas Limit Increase amid Mixed Reactions
Summary:
Ethereum developers are advocating to raise the blockchain network's stagnant gas limit from 30 to 40 million, which they believe could improve Ethereum's scalability and reduce layer 1 transaction fees. Despite the support of some members of the community, not all are in favor of this change, as it may increase the size of the blockchain state and slow down access and modifications, with potential risks including hardware overloads and increased network spam and attacks.
Ethereum developers have embarked on a fresh pursuit to uplift the blockchain network's gas limit that has remained stagnant for a long period. The proponents believe this alteration could enhance Ethereum's scalability. Eric Connor, a core Ethereum developer, and Mariano Conti, ex-head of smart contracts at MakerDao, revealed a website titled 'pump the gas', on March 20. Their objective is to increase the Ethereum gas limit from 30 million to 40 million, reducing layer 1 transaction fees. According to Connor's post on March 19, such a move could lead to a 15% to 33% reduction in layer-1 transaction fees. They collectively appealed to individual stakers, client teams, pools, and community members for their collaboration. The hashtag #pumpthegas has garnered attention from Ethereum users, stakers, and DeFi investors on different platforms.
On March 20, Conti noted a Rocket Pool validator proposing 40 million as the gas limit in a block. Over the recent months, the call for increasing the Ethereum gas limit has swollen. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, in January, proposed a jump in the gas limit from 30 million, where it has stagnated since August 2021, to 40 million. Jesse Pollak, a base contributor, replied with a strong endorsement for upping the Ethereum gas limit to 40 or 45 million, stating it would profit all parties involved, given the capacity. Ethereum's gas limit pertains to the highest amount of gas that can be expended on carrying out transactions or implementing smart contracts in each block. The Ethereum network uses gas as a fee, paid in ETH, necessary for conducting a transaction or executing a smart contract.
The website elucidates that each operation carries a pre-established gas cost, and contracts are bound by a gas limit, which they cannot surpass during execution. This protects the network from malicious contracts that could burden the network with infinite loops or excessive resource utilization. A 33% increase in the block gas limit would permit the Ethereum network to process a third more transaction load in a 24-hour cycle, as per the explanation.
However, this perspective isn't universally shared. Early this year, Ethereum developer Marius van der Wijden voiced reservations alleging that such a raise will expand the size of the blockchain state, leading to slower access and modifications. There are currently no tangible solutions to tackle state growth. Other potential hazards from such a gas limit increase could include hardware overloads and susceptibility to network spam and attacks.
Published At
3/21/2024 7:11:39 AM
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