Ethereum may be one step from its most ambitious scaling move yet. Dankrad Feist, a core researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, has just put forward a new proposal to increase the network’s gas limit by a staggering 100 times, potentially redefining how much data and computation the blockchain can handle.
The proposal, known as EIP-7692, outlines a system that would compress blob-carrying transactions more efficiently. Instead of each transaction containing a separate blob - as introduced during the Dencun upgrade in March 2024, EIP-7692 would allow multiple blobs to be bundled together. In Feist's vision, Ethereum could process up to 100 megabytes of blob data per block, a massive jump from today's roughly 1 megabyte cap.
Feist described his proposal in a detailed X thread, arguing that Ethereum’s current limit is overly conservative and could comfortably be pushed much higher without jeopardizing network stability. "100 MB per block should be possible with blob transactions," he emphasized, while also recognizing that any such change would demand serious stress-testing.
To put the scale in perspective: Ethereum’s current maximum data throughput sits around 0.375 MB per block, according to Ethereum.org’s documentation. Feist’s new design would represent not just a gradual upgrade, but a seismic shift in what Ethereum can process every 12 seconds.
The proposal couldn’t come at a more crucial time. Ethereum's rollups, such as Optimism and Arbitrum are still rely heavily on the mainnet for data availability. More capacity means cheaper transactions, faster settlements, and an overall stronger scaling foundation.
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, has long advocated for scaling through data availability improvements rather than increasing computational load, a strategy echoed in Feist’s proposal. In fact, Buterin’s 2022 post on data sharding highlighted a similar long-term vision of massively expanding Ethereum’s data layer without sacrificing decentralization.
Still, not everyone agrees that cranking the gas limit is a simple fix.
As researchers at Nethermind and Paradigm have pointed out, even modest increases to block size introduce new risks: heavier validator hardware requirements, longer propagation times, and the potential for centralization if only a few players can afford the beefed-up infrastructure.
Feist himself admits that "enormous amounts of testing and tuning" will be needed before any such upgrade could be deployed. He suggests gradual rollouts on Ethereum testnets like Holesky before the change hits mainnet.
The latest surge of activity around Ethereum’s scaling roadmap also coincides with renewed efforts to tackle state bloat, the growing size of Ethereum’s ledger over time. While EIP-7692 could allow much larger data throughput, separate initiatives like Verkle Trees and state expiry models are still needed to prevent the chain from becoming unsustainably heavy.
Feist’s bold idea is now circulating among Ethereum’s core developer circles, though no timeline has been set yet for official implementation.For now, the proposal reflects a broader truth: Ethereum is no longer just cautiously scaling, it's increasingly willing to make daring leaps forward.
What Comes Next?
If Ethereum developers give EIP-7692 the green light, the network could evolve far faster than many imagined post-Dencun. A 100x jump in data capacity could unlock dramatically cheaper rollups, open up room for new app categories like decentralized AI, and push Ethereum even further ahead of competing L1s like Solana and Avalanche.
But as always in crypto infrastructure, the devil is in the details. Stress tests, real-world conditions, and how well the community embraces the changes will decide whether this becomes Ethereum’s next milestone or just another footnote in its long scaling journey.
Either way, Ethereum’s future just got a lot bigger—and a lot closer.
HODL Team
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