Ethereum’s core developers have set a tentative launch date for the network’s next major hard fork, titled Fusaka, with a target date of December 3. This upgrade aims to enhance the network’s efficiency and scalability. Following the initial launch, there will be a significant increase in blob capacity, scheduled for approximately two weeks later, around December 17. Another increase in blob capacity is planned for January 7, 2026. According to Ethereum researcher Christine D. Kim, these enhancements are expected to more than double the current blob capacity.
Prior to Fusaka’s rollout on the mainnet, three public testnets will be conducted from early October through mid-November to ensure all elements function as intended. The planned timeline outlines a systematic approach to the deployment, with Ethereum development community member ethPandaOps recently stating on X, “The initial conclusion is that we can go ahead with a Max blob count of 15 for BPO1 [Blob Parameter Only] and Max blob count of 21 for BPO2. There are a total of five BPOs planned for Fusaka, so we can ensure mainnet scales a lot – safely.”
The BPO forks adjust parameters related to blob targets and limits, allowing for increased efficiency without necessitating client-side updates. Blobs serve the purpose of storing large datasets off-chain, which in turn makes layer-2 networks operate more effectively and lowers transaction costs. Since the Dencun upgrade, the use of blobs has been steadily increasing; the average blob count per block has risen from 0.9 in March 2023 to 5.1 currently, as indicated by a Dune dashboard.
Additionally, the Ethereum Foundation has initiated a four-week code audit program associated with the Fusaka codebase. This program offers a total of $2 million to developers who identify and report vulnerabilities, emphasizing the importance of security and stability in this upcoming upgrade.
Fusaka’s launch will follow the Pectra upgrade, which took place on May 7. The Pectra upgrade raised the validator staking limit, introduced account abstraction, and improved layer-2 network efficiencies.
In other news, the Ethereum exit queue has reached an unprecedented high, with 2.6 million ETH—worth around $12 billion—entering the queue last week. There are growing concerns surrounding potential market implications, as the queue to enter the staking pool has dropped to a four-week low. The current wait time for the exit queue is around 43 days, raising alarms about potential selling pressure from unstaked ETH.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently addressed concerns regarding the lengthy exit queue. In response to Michael Marcantonio, head of DeFi at Galaxy Digital, who described the extended waiting period as “troubling,” Buterin defended the exit queue’s duration, arguing that reducing the limit would compromise the chain’s reliability and trustworthiness.
