Polygon developers are set to enhance the network’s block gas limit, resulting in a significant increase in transaction throughput. This strategic move aims to leverage the growing interest in stablecoins that has recently captured the attention of the crypto industry. By increasing the block gas limit, Polygon intends to accommodate a higher volume of transactions within each block it processes, thereby boosting efficiency and capacity.
Adam Dossa, senior vice president of engineering at Polygon Labs, emphasized the importance of achieving quick finality and strengthening expectations around block inclusion as key requirements for a successful payments-oriented blockchain. By acting proactively to increase the block gas limit—rather than waiting until the network faces congestion—Polygon seeks to prepare for an anticipated surge in demand.
As the company pivots from serving risk-tolerant DeFi users to focusing on more conventional applications like stablecoin payments and the transfer of real-world assets, including tokenized US Treasury bonds, the timing aligns well with bullish projections for the stablecoin market. Recent comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that US dollar stablecoins could reach a staggering $2 trillion market in the upcoming years, fueling excitement and investment in the industry.
Compounding this momentum, Polygon Labs has noted a substantial 40% increase in the monthly volume of peer-to-peer stablecoin transactions on its platform since the start of the year. With over $3 billion in stablecoins now on the blockchain, Polygon stands at an all-time high. Nonetheless, it still trails behind major competitors like Ethereum and Tron, which currently maintain dominant positions with $156 billion and almost $79 billion in stablecoins, respectively. Closing this gap is a central motivation behind the network’s upgrade.
The proposed increase in block gas limit would elevate Polygon’s theoretical capacity from 1,071 transactions per block to 1,428. This is not the first instance of transaction throughput enhancements from Polygon, and Dossa hinted at future aspirations; the ultimate goal is to reach between 5,000 and 10,000 transactions per second.
However, this advancement does come with trade-offs. One concern is that consolidating more transactions into fewer blocks could potentially compromise the network’s decentralization. The design is such that it selects one of its validators to verify each block. As the number of transactions per block increases, the proportion of transactions to verifying validators decreases, which could affect the overall integrity of the network.
Additionally, Dossa highlighted the challenge of state growth—an increase in transaction throughput leads to an accelerated expansion of the blockchain’s state, which encompasses all data on the network, including account balances and smart contract logic. These concerns are not exclusive to Polygon; many blockchains seeking to enhance transaction capacity face similar difficulties.
To address these issues, Polygon is concurrently upgrading its technical infrastructure. One of the critical upgrades currently in testing on the Amoy testnet involves statement verification, enabling validators to confirm transactions without needing access to the entirety of the blockchain’s state. This innovation would allow validators to handle larger blocks without necessitating more advanced and expensive hardware.
The timeline for this block gas limit increase is set for early in the fourth quarter of the year, marking a pivotal moment in Polygon’s evolution as it seeks to solidify its position in the competitive landscape of stablecoins and blockchain technology.
