Ethereum activates its Fusaka upgrade today at 21:49 UTC, deploying PeerDAS technology that allows network nodes to store just one-eighth of blob data while enabling up to 8x theoretical scalability for Layer 2 rollups. The upgrade marks the network's second major enhancement in 2025, following May's Pectra fork that sparked a 29% rally in ETH.
What Happened: Upgrade Details
The upgrade follows Pectra, which combined Prague and Electra upgrades into what the network called its most ambitious hard fork to date.
An official announcement from the Ethereum team stated: "Ethereum's second major upgrade this year. Feature highlight: PeerDAS – Unlocking up to 8x data throughput. For rollups, this means cheaper blob fees and more space to grow."
The Fusaka hard fork merged the Osaka execution layer upgrade with the Fulu consensus layer update, delivering improvements aimed at boosting scalability, security and user experience. These changes support higher transaction volumes across both Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions within the network's ecosystem.
According to Coin Metrics analysis, Fusaka enhances Layer 1 throughput by increasing blob capacity to improve data availability, resulting in more cost-effective rollup operations.
Fusaka's scope extends to infrastructure improvements, reduced node resource requirements and increased security through stricter computational limits and refined gas pricing mechanisms. The upgrade also caps single transaction gas usage at 16,777,216 gas units to eliminate denial-of-service risks from large transactions.
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Why It Matters: Scalability Impact
Peer Data Availability Sampling technology fundamentally changes how nodes manage blob data.
Under the new system, nodes store one-eighth of the network's blob data, reducing storage demands by around 80% while maintaining full data availability through distributed sampling. This reduction in bandwidth and storage barriers for node operators increases participation while supporting greater overall blob capacity.
For Layer 2 rollups that use Ethereum to post transaction data, PeerDAS directly reduces blob fees and enables higher transaction volumes at potentially lower costs.
The upgrade also introduces Blob-Parameter-Only forks, allowing developers to adjust blob capacity targets without requiring a full network hard fork. Additionally, EIP-7918 aligns blob fees with actual network congestion to protect the network's economic security.
However, analysts remain cautious about direct price comparisons to Pectra's rally.
That earlier upgrade coincided with broader macro tailwinds, including a US-UK trade deal that boosted overall market sentiment.
Unlike Pectra, which focused on staking efficiency and account abstraction, Fusaka prioritizes infrastructure scalability—a less visible but potentially more foundational improvement for long-term competitiveness against rivals like Solana.
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