Dual consensus-and-execution overhaul targets faster, cheaper data handling across the ecosystem
Ethereum developers are preparing to activate Fusaka, the network’s second major upgrade of 2025, with deployment set for Wednesday. The update is designed to help the blockchain better absorb the growing volume of data flowing in from layer-2 networks that rely on Ethereum as their settlement layer.
Fusaka — a portmanteau of Fulu and Osaka — packages simultaneous upgrades to both Ethereum’s consensus and execution layers. In total, the release includes 12 Ethereum Improvement Proposals, each aimed at strengthening throughput, increasing efficiency and making layer-2 activity cheaper to settle. One infrastructure researcher said the upgrade reflects “a quiet shift toward treating Ethereum as a high-capacity data backbone rather than a catch-all transaction engine.”
The centerpiece of the release is PeerDAS, a new mechanism that allows validators to verify only segments of submitted data rather than downloading entire blob payloads. Today, layer-2 systems aggregate thousands of transactions into these blobs, which validators must retrieve and check in full — a process that strains bandwidth and slows finalization. Under PeerDAS, validators review a fraction of each blob, reducing computational load and helping bring down the fees paid by rollups. “Modular verification is a logical next step,”.
While most of Fusaka targets layer-2 performance, a handful of smaller adjustments touch Ethereum’s core functionality. These include changes to maximum transaction size for added security and refinements to smart contract execution.
The upgrade is also drawing institutional attention. A recent report from a major digital-assets firm described Fusaka as a meaningful step toward a more coherent long-term roadmap, signaling that stakeholders well beyond the developer community are watching Wednesday’s activation closely.
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