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Introduction to EIP-9698
The Ethereum Foundation’s researcher, Dankrad Feist, has proposed Ethereum Improvement Proposal 9698, aiming to allow Ethereum’s gas limit to expand autonomously over the next four years. Known for his contributions to enhancing Ethereum’s scalability, Feist has even inspired the ‘danksharding’ aspect of the network’s Dencun upgrade.
Details of the Proposal
The proposal suggests a deterministic exponential growth mechanism embedded into client defaults. This mechanism would gradually increase the gas limit by a predetermined amount each epoch, ensuring that validators can maintain their machines efficiently and reducing the need for sudden upgrades.
If implemented, the gas limit could rise from 36 million units to approximately 3.6 billion, potentially enabling around 6,000 simple transfers per block and over 2,000 transactions per second (TPS). Client teams would still need to implement the code, with the option for operators to manually adjust the settings.
Motivation Behind the Proposal
As Feist elaborated on Github, the current gas limit relies on miner/operator voting, which lacks coordination and predictability. This approach, while flexible, may result in stagnation or overly cautious increases. The proposed EIP aims to introduce a predictable growth pattern as a default client setting, promoting a sustainable and transparent gas limit trajectory aligned with advancements in hardware and protocol efficiency.
Expected Activation and Implications
The proposal targets an activation point at Beacon-chain epoch 369017, approximately June 1. An epoch lasts 6.4 minutes and consists of 32 slots, each carrying a block that stores data and contributes to the blockchain.
Currently, EIP-9698 is under review by client maintainers and core developers. Should it be adopted by this June, Ethereum’s throughput could undergo significant changes by 2029—without requiring a hard fork.
Context and Competition
This proposal emerges amidst growing competition from various blockchains offering faster settlement times and lower fees. The Ethereum network has witnessed a shift of financial activity and users to these alternative networks in recent years.
For more details, you can refer to the original article on Coindesk.com.
