Ethereum took another step toward higher throughput this week after activating its second Blob Parameter-Only (BPO) hard fork, a targeted upgrade designed to expand data capacity and support rollup-based scaling ahead of a broader set of changes planned for 2026.
Key Takeaways:
- Ethereum’s second BPO hard fork raised blob limits and targets to support higher rollup throughput without stressing the mainnet.
- Developers view the higher blob target as a key indicator of sustainable network performance and node health.
- Further scalability gains are planned through gas limit increases and the 2026 Glamsterdam hard fork.
The upgrade went live on Wednesday at 1:01:11 UTC and increased the network’s blob limit from 15 to 21.
Blobs are temporary data containers introduced to help rollups bundle transactions more efficiently, easing pressure on Ethereum’s base layer while allowing layer-2 networks to process more activity at lower cost.
Ethereum Raises Blob Target to Signal Sustainable Scaling Levels
Alongside the higher cap, the hard fork also raised the blob target from 10 to 14.
Developers generally view the target as the more important figure, as it reflects the level Ethereum aims to sustain under normal conditions.
Running close to the 21-blob ceiling for extended periods could strain node bandwidth and storage, making the target a key signal for network health.
Each blob can carry 128 kilobytes of data, meaning Ethereum can now handle up to roughly 2.6 megabytes of blob data per block.
That added capacity allows rollups to batch more transactions at once, improving efficiency without directly increasing congestion on the mainnet.
Beyond scaling layer-2 activity, blobs have also played a role in keeping base-layer fees in check.
Since the first BPO hard fork in December, transaction fees on Ethereum have shown noticeably less volatility, reflecting reduced competition for block space as rollups shift data off the main chain.
Developers are already looking ahead to additional throughput gains. During an Ethereum All Core Developers call in mid-December, participants discussed raising the network gas limit from 60 million to 80 million now that the second BPO upgrade is live.
Such a move would allow more transactions and smart contract operations per block, potentially lowering fees further during periods of high demand.
Later in 2026, attention will turn to the planned Glamsterdam hard fork, which is expected to push scalability much further.
The upgrade would allow the gas limit to climb as high as 200 million and introduce so-called “perfect parallel processing,” enabled by Block Access Lists under Ethereum Improvement Proposal-7928.
Buterin Claims Ethereum Has Solved the Blockchain Trilemma
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin says the network has solved the blockchain trilemma, crossing a milestone many in crypto long viewed as unattainable.
In a post on X on Saturday, Buterin argued that recent and upcoming upgrades have finally aligned decentralization, security, and scalability through code already running in production.
At the center of the claim are two technical advances, including peer data availability sampling (PeerDAS) and zero-knowledge Ethereum virtual machines (zkEVMs).
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s staking dynamics shifted sharply this week as validator exits dried up and fresh capital flowed back into long-term lockups, signaling a notable change in market behavior among large ether holders.
The network’s validator exit queue dropped to zero ETH early Tuesday, a steep decline from its mid-September peak of roughly 2.67 million ETH, when withdrawal wait times stretched for days.
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