Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has called for a "modest" increase in the gas limit to potentially improve the network's throughput. Notably, the gas limit has remained unchanged for nearly three years, marking the longest period of stability in Ethereum's history.
Currently set at 30 million, Buterin proposes raising the gas limit to around 40 million, representing a 33% increase. Since the network's inception in 2015, the average gas limit has steadily risen from 3 million, reflecting the growing usage and adoption of Ethereum.
The gas limit refers to the maximum amount of gas that can be utilized for executing transactions or smart contracts within each block. This limit ensures that blocks maintain an optimal size, preventing any adverse impact on network performance and synchronization. Validators have the ability to dynamically adjust the gas limit within specific parameters while producing blocks.
By increasing the gas limit, more transactions can be included in each block, theoretically enhancing the overall throughput and capacity of the Ethereum network. However, this adjustment also places additional strain on hardware and raises concerns about potential network spam and attacks.
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