Ethereum Price Holds Above $1,700 as Gas Limit Expansion Proposal Targets 100x Scalability Boost

James Gathecha Avatar
  • Ethereum is holding above $1,700 while a new proposal aims to increase its gas limit by 100 times, potentially boosting transaction capacity to over 2,000 TPS.
  • This scalability improvement, alongside fee structure reforms, positions Ethereum to stay competitive against rivals like Solana.

Ethereum (ETH) continues to hold firm above the $1,700 support level, despite experiencing a 1.2% decline over the last 24 hours. This price stability comes at a crucial moment as Ethereum’s development community explores bold new proposals that could significantly enhance its scalability and competitiveness within the broader cryptocurrency space.

One of the most exciting developments is the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP-9698), which aims to raise Ethereum’s gas limit by 100 times over the next four years. Proposed by Dankrad Feist of the Ethereum Foundation, this ambitious plan involves gradually increasing the current gas limit of 36 million to a staggering 3.6 billion. The expansion will occur in two phases, with each phase involving a tenfold increase. If successful, this initiative could boost Ethereum’s transaction capacity to over 2,000 transactions per second (TPS), making it a more formidable competitor to high-throughput blockchains like Solana.

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Feist emphasized that this proposal introduces a predictable and sustainable growth pattern, allowing Ethereum’s ecosystem to adapt alongside advancements in hardware and protocol efficiency. However, the proposal does come with its share of challenges, including potential strain on less-optimized nodes and longer block propagation times. Nonetheless, Feist is confident that gradual implementation will give developers and node operators enough time to make necessary adjustments.

The proposed gas limit expansion is part of Ethereum’s broader strategy to improve scalability, which has traditionally focused on layer-2 solutions. While layer-2 technologies offer scalability benefits, critics argue that they can create fragmented ecosystems with limited interoperability. The gas limit proposal seeks to enhance Ethereum’s native scalability without compromising its user experience.

From a technical analysis standpoint, Ethereum has shown strength against Bitcoin (BTC), with key levels to watch for potential recovery. Currently trading around $1,780, ETH has been fluctuating between $1,725 and $1,850, with bulls defending critical support levels. Analysts are monitoring key resistance at $1,861 and the psychological target of $2,000.

In addition to scalability improvements, Ethereum’s community is also considering reforms to its fee structure. A new dynamic cost structure could help balance revenue generation for developers while maintaining competitiveness against alternatives like Solana. These proposals reflect Ethereum’s ongoing efforts to maintain its position as the leading smart contract platform in a rapidly evolving market.

As Ethereum continues to innovate, the future looks bright for the network, with these exciting proposals poised to propel it into a new era of scalability and functionality.