Ethereum has successfully activated its Fusaka upgrade on the mainnet, marking its second significant update for the year and sparking significant changes in data availability and block capacity. This upgrade, which took place at block height 18,200,000, was anticipated after previous test deployments on the Holesky, Sepolia, and Hoodi test networks throughout October. Final checks performed by client teams earlier this week set the stage for this major enhancement.
Following the activation, Ethereum’s trading price responded favorably, fluctuating between approximately $3,150 and $3,210 in the hours post-upgrade. The cryptocurrency saw a steady price increase, surpassing $3,200 by early Thursday, with a four percent rise attributed to substantial accumulation from “shark wallets” holding between 1,000-10,000 ETH, as reported by early assessments from Santiment.
The Fusaka upgrade has been touted as a game-changer, as it aligns Ethereum’s base layer with the growing activity of its layer-2 ecosystem. Blockscout noted that signs of preparedness for heightened data throughput across layer-2 networks became evident leading up to the upgrade. The regularity of state-root submissions and adjusted block intervals by several rollups indicates a trend toward smoother sequencing and more frequent batch updates, all aimed at accommodating increased capacity and predictable throughput.
A key feature of Fusaka is the introduction of PeerDAS, a data availability sampling mechanism allowing each node to store only a fraction of the blob data, significantly reducing bandwidth and storage requirements. This shift opens the door to expanding blob throughput approximately eightfold compared to existing capabilities. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasized the importance of PeerDAS, highlighting its realization of long-standing goals such as sharding and data availability sampling, concepts that have been discussed since 2015 and 2017 respectively.
Fusaka also paves the way for Blob-Parameter-Only (BPO) configuration changes, enabling clients to increase blob capacity without necessitating a full hard fork. Additionally, the upgrade introduces modifications to blob fees to prevent a collapse when gas prices surge, ensuring smoother transaction processing and smart contract execution.
Characterized as an “infrastructure-heavy update” by Shiv Shankar, CEO of the decentralized zero-knowledge compute marketplace Boundless, Fusaka addresses longstanding requests and enhances network capacity without disrupting foundational systems. These improvements are expected to influence the flow of value through Ethereum’s base layer, with a Sygnum Bank study noting the potential for gradual increases in fee burn and validator rewards as network activity picks up.
Experts predict that Fusaka will reshape the competitive landscape for rollups and impact the overall structure of Ethereum’s settlement architecture. Edwin Mata, co-founder and CEO of the tokenization platform Brickken, explained that by lessening the data processing load for rollups and validators, the network becomes more predictable in its performance and cost. This predictability is crucial for regulated institutions considering the scalability of public chains for issuance and post-trade activities.
Furthermore, Fusaka is expected to lower the operational threshold for node participation, which could expand the validator base and mitigate concentration risks in the network. Mata pointed out that resilient networks with no single points of failure are essential for capital markets, and enhanced decentralization plays a vital role in achieving this objective.
As Ethereum embarks on this next phase of scaling with the Fusaka upgrade, the implications for its ecosystem, performance, and long-term sustainability appear promising.
