Ethereum’s Growing Pains: Vitalik Buterin Calls for Urgent Scalability Boost

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, is sounding the alarm on the network’s capacity limitations and advocating for an increase in the “blob count” to further scale the ecosystem. This urgent call for action comes in the wake of Ethereum’s recent Dencun upgrade, which introduced the concept of blob space.

In a recent developer discussion, Buterin revealed that the current blob space is approximately 75% full, emphasizing the need for immediate action. “I think the ecosystem is sleeping on the fact that it’s uncomfortably close to a ceiling,” Buterin stated, pushing for the implementation of changes via EIP-7623 to increase the blob count.

The Technical Nitty-Gritty: Blobs, Counts, and Scalability

Blob space, introduced by EIP-4844 (also known as proto-danksharding), is a specialized data storage area designed to enhance network scalability. It’s primarily intended to benefit layer-2 rollups by temporarily storing large amounts of data.

The proposed increase would raise the target blob count from 3 to 4 per block, with a maximum of 8, up from the current maximum of 6. This change could potentially improve the capacity for L2 networks to post their data on Ethereum, addressing growing concerns about network congestion.

Buterin also expressed worry about some L2s hesitating to adopt blobs due to potential market congestion. He stressed the importance of EIP-7623, stating, “We cannot afford to let momentum slip on moving more layer 2s over to using blobs.” The proposal aims to reduce the maximum block size from 2.7MB to approximately 1MB, potentially allowing for an increase in the block gas limit or blob count.

Community Response and Market Implications

The Ethereum community seems to be rallying behind this proposal. Jesse Pollak, creator of Coinbase’s L2 Base, voiced strong support for increasing the blob count, noting that it “reduces worst-case block size and adds needed capacity for fast-growing L2s.”

This discussion comes as Ethereum prepares for its upcoming Prague and Electra upgrades, collectively known as Pectra. These upgrades are set to improve scalability, introduce account abstraction, and increase validator staking limits.

ETH/USD Technical Analysis

In the financial markets, Ethereum options worth $1.9 billion are set to expire on September 27. The put/call ratio of 0.47 indicates a strong bullish sentiment among traders. The max pain price for Ethereum is currently at $2,500, suggesting potential market volatility around this level.

As of the latest data, Ethereum’s price is showing bullish momentum, trading above $2,620 and eyeing the $2,665 resistance level. A breakthrough could potentially lead to further gains, with the next key resistance levels at $2,700 and $2,720.