@maahi

Ethereum's Fusaka Upgrade: Scaling the Future of DeFi and Beyond On December 3, 2025, Ethereum successfully activated the Fusaka hard fork at block 18,200,000, marking the network's second major upgrade of the year following Pectra in May. Named as a blend of "Fulu" and "Osaka," this incremental yet pivotal update blends consensus and execution layer enhancements to address scalability bottlenecks, particularly for layer-2 (L2) rollups. As Ethereum's adoption surges-powering DeFi, NFTs, and tokenized assets-Fusaka arrives just in time to handle escalating transaction volumes without compromising decentralization. At its core is PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling), a groundbreaking EIP that slashes bandwidth requirements for validators. Instead of downloading entire "blobs" of L2 data, nodes now sample fractions, verifying availability efficiently. This unlocks an eightfold blob capacity increase-from 3 to 24 blobs per block-phased in via Blob Parameter Only (BPO) hard forks starting December 9. The result? Dramatically lower fees for L2 users, with throughput potentially hitting 100,000+ TPS, making Ethereum feel snappier for wallets and dApps. Fusaka isn't just about speed. EIP-7951 introduces secp256r1 precompile support for P-256 elliptic curves, aligning Ethereum with Web2 security standards and easing wallet interoperability. EIP-7918 tweaks blob fees to prevent collapse during gas spikes, restoring deflationary pressure on ETH supply amid rising activity. Developers also streamlined the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with Object Format tweaks, cutting gas costs and bolstering smart contract security. For ETH holders, the impact is immediate: post-upgrade, ETH surged past $3,200, buoyed by optimism for L2 growth. Node operators, especially solo stakers, benefit from reduced hardware demands, preserving Ethereum's ethos of accessibility. As Alchemy's CTO Guillaume Poncin notes, Fusaka "alters rollup competition" and fortifies settlement architecture. Looking ahead, Fusaka paves the way for 2026's Glamsterdam fork, which eyes six-second block times via EIP-7782. In a year of accelerated six-month cadences, this "half-upgrade" exemplifies Ethereum's disciplined evolution-quietly building infrastructure for a trillion-dollar ecosystem. With no disruptions reported, Fusaka cements Ethereum's lead in programmable money, inviting developers and users to scale without limits.

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