Ethereum Gets a Boost: Speed and Savings with the Pectra Update
A fresh breeze is blowing over Ethereum. Since Pectra, this iconic blockchain is gradually shedding its Achilles’ heels. Transaction fees are plummeting, scalability is improving, and the role of blobs is growing… crypto is shifting gears. But as often in the Ethereum universe, every jump forward carries new questions. And some challenges are relocating rather than disappearing.
In Brief
- Ethereum has doubled its blob data capacity, drastically reducing transaction fees.
- Rollups are becoming profitable but have not yet exploited the full storage potential offered.
- Blobs overload nodes, forcing some validators to leave the network or merge.
- Ethereum imposes block limits to protect the network from bandwidth explosion.
Blobs Like It’s Pouring: Ethereum Unleashed
Since the Pectra update , Ethereum is doing the splits: doubling its capacity without exploding its fees. The introduction of EIP-7691 now allows adding up to 9 blobs per block. The result: a new data format that is both ephemeral and ultra-economical, already visible in the recent network evolution after the upgrade .
Indeed, blob fees have dropped from $16,000 per day to a few hundredths of a cent. This represents a 100,000-fold decrease, propelling rollups into a new era. Operating costs collapse, making some applications once too expensive finally viable.
Ethereum is thus becoming more accessible. Rollups, those layer 2 solutions meant to relieve the main network, can now be used as much as desired. Yet, only 67% of the new capacity is actually used , suggesting a largely untapped potential according to Galaxy data.
Crypto is evolving, but adoption of this new data logic remains gradual. Projects still hesitate to bet everything on technology that is in a trial phase.
Crypto, Storage, and Decentralization: The Unstable Balance of Blockchain
Behind the technical feat, side effects appear. More blobs mean more data to store temporarily. Up to 44.6 GB can transit between two memory purges. Huge pressure on validator nodes.
The Ethereum blog warns: for some small validators, the demands become untenable. This pushes toward centralization, as several small operators merge or turn to managed solutions.
Moreover, the rise in blobs imposes new limits. EIP-7623 restricts the maximum block size to avoid network overload. Ethereum is proceeding cautiously, aware that every technical solution must preserve network integrity.
While fees fall, constraints increase. A familiar paradox in the crypto world, where every solved problem gives birth to new tensions.
Challenges and Perspectives: Where Does Ethereum Want to Go?
The post-Pectra review remains overall positive. Ethereum shows it can evolve without sacrificing its values. But crypto remains suspended on promises under construction.
The “blob market” is only at its beginning. Rollups only partially occupy the available bandwidth. The potential is there, but momentum remains shy. The coming months will need to be closely watched.
Ethereum post-Pectra in 5 data points:
- Blobs now cost $0.00000035 per unit;
- Daily capacity reaches 8.15 GB;
- Purchases of blobs by rollups have jumped by +20.8%;
- Only 67% of available blobs are actually used;
- A node can handle up to 44.6 GB of blobs before purge.
Future developments will depend on projects’ capacity to appropriate this resource. Ethereum sets the tools on the table, and it is up to the ecosystem to play the game.
Ethereum is charting a solid technological path, but it requires time. Vitalik Buterin has never lacked ideas. Recently, he spoke of a future Ethereum ten times more powerful , made possible by a new network architecture.
