Ethereum isn’t optimizing for raw throughput. It’s optimizing for durability.
While other chains compete on execution speed, Ethereum continues reinforcing its position as the modular base layer, prioritizing data availability, validator resilience, and long-term scalability.
Here’s what’s live, what’s structurally important in 2026, and why it matters beyond upgrade headlines.
Fusaka: Scaling the Rollup Economy
Activated on December 3, 2025, Fusaka wasn’t about flashy UX changes. It was about structural efficiency.
By introducing execution-layer and consensus-layer improvements focused on blob data handling, Ethereum made rollup data cheaper and more scalable — without forcing every node to store every blob.
That’s not just optimization.
It’s architecture.
Ethereum is reinforcing its rollup-centric model instead of competing with it.
PeerDAS: Throughput Without Hardware Inflation
Peer Data Availability Sampling (EIP-7594) fundamentally changes how nodes verify blob data.
Instead of downloading entire blobs, nodes can sample and verify availability probabilistically.
The result:
- Higher potential blob throughput
- Lower hardware burden
- Preserved decentralization
Ethereum is increasing scalability without increasing validator centralization risk — a trade-off many high-performance chains struggle with.
BPO Forks: Faster Scaling Cycles
Blob Parameter Only (BPO) forks introduce a quieter but powerful shift.
Instead of waiting for full hard forks, Ethereum can now adjust blob throughput parameters independently.
That changes upgrade dynamics.
It allows Ethereum to respond to L2 demand growth without triggering large governance cycles.
This is iterative scalability, not episodic scalability.
Gas & Network Hardening: Stability Over Spectacle
Fusaka also coordinated gas limit adjustments and network hardening changes.
Increasing default gas limits while implementing per-transaction caps improves efficiency while mitigating denial-of-service vectors.
Ethereum isn’t chasing dramatic TPS numbers.
It’s reducing systemic fragility.
Wallet & Account Abstraction Improvements
Across the Pectra–Fusaka window, Ethereum deployed incremental UX improvements:
- Support for alternative signature curves
- Native device signing paths
- Continued account abstraction enhancements
These aren’t viral features.
But they reduce friction at the wallet layer, critical for onboarding the next wave of users and applications.
Rollups Aren’t the Future. They’re the Present
Ethereum’s rollup-centric scaling strategy isn’t theoretical anymore.
Rollups are live.
Blobs are live.
Data availability markets are live.
Fusaka and BPO adjustments are reinforcing an already operational ecosystem.
Ethereum L1 isn’t trying to compete with execution chains.
It’s positioning itself as settlement, data availability, and security anchor for everything built on top.
Validator Reality in 2026
With Fusaka and BPO changes live, validators and node operators must run updated clients that support:
- Fusaka consensus changes
- PeerDAS sampling
- BPO parameter updates
- Revised gas limit rules
Outdated nodes risk desynchronization from mainnet consensus.
This isn’t optional maintenance.
It’s structural participation in the evolving protocol.
The Bigger Picture
Ethereum isn’t trying to win the throughput race. It’s trying to become an unavoidable infrastructure.
Execution is increasingly modular. Settlement is increasingly concentrated.
If rollups dominate execution, and if data availability becomes the scarce resource, then Ethereum’s role becomes clearer:
Not the fastest chain. The chain everything settles to. And that’s a very different kind of moat.
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