Catenaa, Thursday, February 13, 2025 – Ethereum has raised its gas limit to 32 million for the first time in nearly three years, following a vote by validators. This change, approved by 52% of validators, allows more computational actions per block, potentially reducing gas fees and improving transaction efficiency.
The gas limit had previously been set at 30 million during Ethereum’s transition to a proof-of-stake blockchain in August 2022. The new increase is seen as a move to accommodate growing network activity, although it has sparked debate within the Ethereum community. Some have expressed concerns that higher gas limits could lead to network bottlenecks and performance issues.
Gas, the unit of computational energy used for transactions, is central to Ethereum’s operation. The raised limit aims to alleviate congestion, but concerns about scalability remain. Researchers warn that limits above 40 million could lead to failures in propagating blocks as expected.
This increase in gas limit follows a tumultuous week for Ethereum, which saw the cryptocurrency’s value plunge by 17.8% in one day, marking its largest drop since May 2021. Ethereum’s price has since rebounded, fueled by news of a potential tariff pause by President Trump. Ethereum also hit its lowest level against Bitcoin in almost five years, intensifying market uncertainty.
Ethereum’s network is expecting a major upgrade with the Pectra hard fork in March 2025, which could further enhance the network’s scalability.
