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Ethereum’s significant Fusaka upgrade successfully completed its final testnet phase on the Hoodi network on Tuesday evening, marking the last major milestone before its scheduled mainnet deployment on December 3. The upgrade, which was finalized at 18:53 UTC, is set to be one of the blockchain’s most important scalability improvements since the introduction of blob transactions.
Network Data Capacity Poised to Grow 8x
The Fusaka upgrade centers on EIP-7594, a proposal known as Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS). This new mechanism fundamentally changes how validators process data from Layer 2 networks.
Instead of downloading entire data blocks, validators will now verify smaller data segments through distributed sampling. This dramatically lowers bandwidth requirements while maintaining security.
“PeerDAS enables validators to verify large datasets or data blocks by sampling small portions of data from peers, rather than downloading the entire dataset,” explained a developer outlining the technical specifications. This innovation allows Ethereum to expand its data blob capacity from the current 6 to a potential 48 blobs per block—an eightfold increase in data availability.
The upgrade also boosts Ethereum’s block gas limit from 45 million to 150 million units, which analysts say could theoretically increase transaction processing capacity to 12,000 TPS. Other improvements include EIP-7825, which caps the gas for a single transaction at 30 million to prevent network congestion, and enhanced support for Zero-Knowledge (ZK) rollups.
A Three-Phase Rollout Strategy
Ethereum developers have structured the Fusaka deployment into three distinct phases:
- December 3 (Mainnet Activation): This will introduce the core protocol changes, including PeerDAS and the updated gas parameters.
- December 17 & January 7, 2026 (BPO Forks): Two subsequent “Blob Parameter Only” (BPO) forks are planned to gradually increase the blob capacity to 14, with a final maximum of 21 blobs per block.
The completion on Hoodi follows successful deployments on the Holesky (October 1) and Sepolia (October 14) testnets, representing the final validation stage. Nethermind, a major Ethereum execution client, confirmed the smooth testnet transition, calling it “another key milestone on the road to Fusaka.”
Market Outlook and Future Developments
Despite the technical advancements, the price of Ethereum has remained relatively stable, hovering around $4,000 as traders await the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Some analysts predict the upgrade could fuel a push for ETH toward the $5,000 mark, though market volatility remains a factor.
Ethereum developers are already planning the next major upgrade, Glamsterdam, expected in the first half of 2026. This follow-up hard fork will focus on Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) and block-level access lists to further enhance censorship resistance and network efficiency.
