Ethereum Increases Gas Limit, Enabling More Transactions Per Block

For the first time in the post-Merge era, Ethereum has increased the gas limit on its blockchain.

By voting to increase the gas limit from 30 million to 36 million, Ethereum validators have effectively voted to increase the transaction capacity of each block. That means more transactions, or more complex transactions, per block.

With the threshold of more than 50% of validators approving the Ethereum Improvement Proposal passed on Feb. 3, the proposal was implemented as a soft fork.

This is the first time such an increase has occurred since the blockchain switched from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. In 2021, the gas limit was doubled from 15 million to 30 million.

What is Gas?

Gas is a unit of computational power used to take an action on Ethereum, and the gas limit is the maximum amount transactions can use in a single block.

Now, each block will be able to handle 36 million gas units, rather than 30 million. That will provide more room on each block for more, or more complex, transactions. This, in turn, will increase throughput and decrease congestion during peak usage.

Users pay a gas fee in ETH to include a transaction in a block, with higher fees getting priority.

Focus on Layer 1

“This adjustment suggests a new perspective on Layer 1 scaling, allowing for an immediate increase in transaction capacity per block,” said Alan Orwick, co-founder of Quai Network, a proof-of-work Layer 1 blockchain. “This could enhance throughput, reduce congestion, and lower fees during peak times, which are vital for Ethereum's role in supporting DeFi, NFTs, and other blockchain applications.”

At the same time, Orwick said scaling just by expanding gas limits would put the onus on validators, potentially leading to more centralization “as only those with significant resources can participate effectively.”

That’s clearly a concern Vitalik Buterin understood as he cheered the vote, saying in an X post that the Ethereum Layer 1 is scaling and giving “a big shoutout” to developers working on other projects designed to make Ethereum’s higher gas limits “decentralization-friendly.”