Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has said that approximately half of the network’s stake supports an increase in the Ethereum Layer 1 (L1) gas limit. This statement was made on the social media platform X.
“Almost exactly 50% of stake is voting to increase the L1 gas limit to 45m,” said Buterin. “The gas limit is already starting to increase, now at 37.3m.”
According to The Block, the current debate surrounding Ethereum’s L1 gas limit policy focuses on a proposal to raise the gas limit to enhance transaction throughput. Proponents argue for scalability and reduced fees, while critics express concerns about potential centralization risks and increased hardware demands for validators. These discussions reflect broader issues regarding the balance between efficiency and decentralization.
As reported by Etherscan, Ethereum’s L1 gas limit as of July 2024 is set at 40 million units per block, an increase from 30 million in 2021. Historical data indicates steady increases as the network adapts to higher transaction volumes and broader adoption of smart contracts and decentralized applications.
According to Dune Analytics, over 23 million ETH—approximately 19% of total supply—was staked on Ethereum by July 2024. More than one million active validators are participating in network security and governance, demonstrating growing community engagement with Ethereum’s proof-of-stake protocol.
As detailed by the Ethereum Foundation, Vitalik Buterin is a Russian-Canadian programmer who co-founded Ethereum in 2015 at age 21 after working at Bitcoin Magazine. He remains a leading researcher, advocate, and thought leader in the blockchain space.
According to Ethereum.org, Ethereum was launched in 2015 with the mission to create a decentralized platform for smart contracts and open financial applications. It operates on a proof-of-stake model with technical governance managed by core developers, node operators, and community stakeholders in an open-source, decentralized manner.
