Ethereum Fusaka Upgrade Goes Live, Boosting Scalability Toward Instant Transactions

Key Takeaways

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  Fusaka was activated at Epoch 411392 on December 3, delivering PeerDAS for 8x data throughput.
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  Reduced blob fees benefit Layer 2 rollups while cutting node data loads.
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  The upgrade improves Ethereum’s usability by providing near-instant confirmations for users.

Fusaka Activates PeerDAS, Enhancing Network Efficiency

Ethereum mainnet executed the Fusaka upgrade at 9:49 pm UTC on Wednesday, marking the network’s second major update this year. PeerDAS fragments rollup data blobs into smaller cells, allowing nodes to process less data overall.

This upgrade helps reduce fees for Layer 2 networks and boosts overall throughput without sacrificing decentralization. Rollups become cheaper to run, enabling developers and businesses to interact with the mainnet more easily and at lower cost.

The Ethereum Foundation also noted that these improvements move the network closer to near-instant transactions. With preconfirmations cutting latency from minutes to milliseconds, activity on Ethereum should start to feel much more real-time.

Market Eyes ETH Price Reaction Post-Upgrade

Analysts say the upcoming Fusaka upgrade could give Ether another push, especially after the 58% run-up following Pectra. Traders note that the scaling improvements put Ethereum in a stronger position against its competitors. Several well-known observers, including MerlijnTrader and LLuciano_BTC, have shared a generally upbeat outlook, arguing that the fundamentals are finally catching up with the price action.

Node operators are set to benefit from lighter data requirements, while users should see lower costs across dApps. The upgrade could open the door to wider Ethereum adoption in DeFi and beyond as long-standing scalability bottlenecks continue to ease.

Meanwhile, a notable cryptocurrency investor who acquired assets during the 2015 Ethereum Initial Coin Offering recently activated a wallet that had been inactive for over a decade. This action involved transferring their substantial holding of 40,000 $ETH, which is now valued at a staggering $120 million.

Defying expectations of a sell-off, the holder immediately staked the entire stash, reinforcing a profound long-term bullish stance. This move is a decisive vote of confidence in Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake mechanism, in contrast to other early participants who are liquidating their holdings.

Before the Fusaka upgrade, the Ethereum network hit a new high of 32,950 transactions per second (TPS), mainly due to the superior zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup performance of the Layer-2 solution Lighter. A higher gas limit also bolstered the network’s capacity, aiding Layer-2 settlements.