Ethereum Scales Up: New ‘Blob’ Hard Fork Boosts Transaction Capacity

Ethereum Enhances Scalability with Second ‘Blob’ Expansion

Ethereum developers have successfully executed the second “Blob Parameter-Only” (BPO) hard fork, marking another significant milestone in the network’s 2026 scalability roadmap. By increasing the blob limit from 15 to 21, the upgrade allows Layer 2 rollups to batch a higher volume of transactions into a single Ethereum block. This technical adjustment is designed to lower costs for users and improve the overall efficiency of the ecosystem.

Optimizing Throughput and Stabilizing Network Fees

The latest hard fork doesn’t just raise the ceiling; it also boosts the “blob target” from 10 to 14. Experts highlight this target as a critical metric because it balances the need for high data throughput with the physical limitations of node bandwidth and storage. With each blob representing 128 kilobytes, Ethereum’s capacity per block has now expanded to 2,688 KB. This shift has already shown positive results, with data indicating that mainnet gas fees have become significantly more stable since these adjustments began in late 2025.

Beyond blobs, the Ethereum developer community is eyeing even more ambitious changes. Recent discussions have focused on potentially raising the network’s gas limit from 60 million to 80 million now that the BPO fork is active. This move would increase the number of smart contract operations and transactions per block, further alleviating congestion and driving down fees for the average user.

Looking Ahead: Glamsterdam and the Era of Parallelism

The current upgrades are merely a prelude to the “Glamsterdam” hard fork scheduled for later in 2026. This major milestone aims to push the gas limit to a staggering 200 million and introduce “perfect parallel processing.” By implementing Ethereum Improvement Proposal-7928, the network is set to transition from a single-lane processing model to a high-speed, multi-lane digital highway, radically transforming how the world’s most active blockchain handles its global workload.

What are blobs and why do they matter for Ethereum scalability?

Blobs (Binary Large Objects) are temporary data packets introduced through EIP-4844 that allow Layer 2 rollups to batch and store transaction data on Ethereum more efficiently and cost-effectively. Each blob holds 128 kilobytes of data, and by increasing the blob limit from 15 to 21, Ethereum can now process significantly more Layer 2 transaction data per block. This directly reduces costs for users on popular Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base while maintaining Ethereum’s security guarantees.

How will the Glamsterdam hard fork change Ethereum’s performance?

The Glamsterdam hard fork represents a fundamental architectural shift for Ethereum by introducing parallel processing capabilities through EIP-7928. Instead of processing transactions sequentially in a single queue, the network will be able to handle multiple transaction streams simultaneously. Combined with a gas limit increase to 200 million (more than triple the current 60 million), this upgrade will dramatically improve throughput, reduce wait times, and lower transaction costs across the entire Ethereum ecosystem, making it more competitive with high-performance blockchains.

Will these upgrades affect Ethereum’s decentralization or security?

Ethereum developers carefully balance scalability improvements with decentralization and security concerns. The gradual blob target increase from 10 to 14 was specifically calibrated to account for node bandwidth and storage limitations, ensuring that individual validators can still participate without requiring enterprise-grade infrastructure. While higher gas limits and parallel processing do increase computational demands, the phased rollout approach and extensive testing on testnets help maintain Ethereum’s core principle that the network should remain accessible to independent node operators while scaling to meet global demand.