Ethereum prepares to launch Fusaka upgrade: the network will become faster and cheaper

Key points:

• The Fusaka upgrade has successfully passed final testing and is scheduled to launch on December 3.
• The fork will improve the speed and reduce the cost of Layer 2 transactions, as well as prepare Ethereum for parallel execution of smart contracts.

The next major upgrade to the Ethereum network, Fusaka, has successfully completed testing on the Hoodi network. The launch on the mainnet is scheduled for December 3. Developers call it a key step in Layer 2 scaling, as it should significantly reduce costs and increase network efficiency.

Nethermind, one of Ethereum’s leading clients, reported that the tests went smoothly and called the release an important step in the network’s development.

What the Fusaka upgrade will bring

The fork includes several Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) — EIP-7594 with Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS) technology.

PeerDAS allows validators to read only part of a data block rather than the entire block. This reduces the load on nodes and makes Layer 2 transactions cheaper. According to Marius an Der Wijden, an Ethereum developer, the technology will increase the space for BLOB objects by more than 400%.

The upgrade also includes EIP-7825 and EIP-7935, which aim to increase the gas limit and prepare the network for parallel execution of smart contracts, which will increase the overall throughput of the blockchain.

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Technical context and impact

Fusaka will be part of a three-stage process that will begin with the launch of the upgrade on the Ethereum mainnet, followed by the activation of expanded storage for BLOB objects. The final stage will be a second hard fork, which will finalize the changes and ensure full integration of the new features.

These changes are aimed at solving Vitalik Buterin’s “blockchain trilemma,” where Ethereum has traditionally prioritized security and decentralization over scalability. Fusaka will help balance all three aspects, making the network cheaper and faster.

Amid expectations for the upgrade, the ETH price remains volatile — over the past 24 hours, it has fallen by about 5% to $3947, although traders still estimate the probability of growth above $4500 at more than 68%, according to Myriad data.