Ethereum’s Fusaka Upgrade
On December 3rd, Ethereum lovers around the globe woke to find that Ethereum had completed its much-anticipated Fusaka upgrade. But some are curious what this upgrade does exactly and how it improves Ethereum’s blockchain overall.
We’ve got the scoop on the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade, so keep reading to learn the ins and outs, as well as when the next upgrade can be anticipated.
What is the Fusaka Upgrade?
The Fusaka upgrade is the latest in a long list of planned upgrades to the Ethereum platform, following the Dencun and Pectra upgrades in the preceding two years.
This upgrade boosted several aspects of the platform. Most notably is the fact that Fusaka has restructured Ethereum, widening the channel on which the layer 2 networks operate. This allows the blockchain to compress the transactions from this layer into batches, thus increasing the overall speed of the blockchain. This means users of Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base can now enjoy faster transactions.
This was accomplished via a new system called PeerDAS, which allows the verification of transactions without downloading, so there is no time wasted while a node downloads locally. This moves the speed of Ethereum transactions one step closer to becoming “instant.”
However, users shouldn’t rejoice just yet, as the results aren’t quite instant.
Will Fusaka Increase the Ethereum Price?
This is the third major update to Ethereum in recent years, and honestly, we have yet to associate these updates with major price movements. That being said, because this blockchain specifically improves on layer 2 solutions, we do expect that more layer 2 solutions will be built and that their business may expand.
With their expansion and the increased use of the blockchain as a whole, the price may naturally increase. And, obviously, we don’t have a crystal ball so we could be incorrect as well.
What Does Vitalik Buterin Say About This Update?
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s creator, is humble as always, stating that this is simply a stepping stone in the larger picture for Ethereum, and while Fusaka has launched, it isn’t yet complete.
PeerDAS, as mentioned above, is an aspect of what he envisions for the future of Ethereum’s sharding, however, it is not an all-encompassing solution on its own. While more data is now available at a lower cost, the full system will still take a few more years to complete.
He also points out that Fusaka increases the speed of the layer 2 applications only, and that the base layer still processes transactions in sequence, meaning the average user of Ethereum will likely not notice any changes. It is only those who utilize the layer 2 aspect of the platform who will enjoy all Fusaka has to offer.
Plus, always the realist, Buterin points out that block builders still need to download transactions in order to process them, which is one of Ethereum’s main centralization risks currently. It also still only utilizes a single mempool, so all nodes must still process all transactions—something which severely caps the blockchain’s ability to grow.
When is the Next Update Coming?
As with all of the upgrades so far, Buterin does not give an exact date for when we humble mortals can expect the next increase in Ethereum’s usability. But he did mention that PeerDAS is an excellent foundation that can help prepare for the next upgrade over the course of two years.
Nothing is written in stone, obviously, but we assume this means we should begin looking for the next Ethereum upgrade in about 2 years’ time. We do know that the next upgrade is named Glamsterdam.
What is Glamsterdam?
The information of the pending Ethereum upgrades is always growing and evolving. So far, Buterin has revealed that Glamsterdam is focused on ePBS, which is a builder separator, which will lessen Ethereum’s reliance on external block builders. Not only does this increase the load the blockchain can bear, but it will also increase decentralization across the board. Additionally, this builder separator will allow builders to specify which aspects of the blockchain the transaction runs through—allowing the blockchain to become more efficient overall.
Unfortunately, this is the one downside of Fusaka, as with the implication of this upgrade, the reliance on the external block builders has increased temporarily. While we are never a fan of centralization, we know that some form of growing pains is involved in the growth of a blockchain—even one as well-loved as Ethereum. We just hope that Glamsterdam will come as promised in 2026, though with Buterin’s recent interview, we do expect it may come in early 2027 instead.
What is After Glamsterdam?
We prefer to focus more on the near future, but for those who are looking further ahead, after Glamsterdam comes Verge, which is an upgrade based on adding Verkle trees, restructuring how the blockchain is stored and verified.
Past Verge is Splurge, which is a collection of upgrades meant to improve the user and developer experience on the blockchain. This will be accomplished via account abstraction, cryptographic enhancements, and more.
But both of these are years away, and we expect it may even be a decade before the Splurge is reached, so we prefer to just look forward to Glamsterdam for now.
Should You Invest in Ethereum?
We often recommend Ethereum investments on our platform, and for a good reason. Ethereum is one of the few blockchains that is transparent, still has the creator openly involved, and is always improving. While we can’t guarantee it will be successful after all of these upgrades, we do know that it is widely used and understood.
Unfortunately, it is a bit centralized when compared to Bitcoin, but sometimes that is what you have to give up in order to get the level of innovation Ethereum is usually seeking to provide. Of course, we aren’t accountants or advisors, so you’ll need to make your own decision before investing in Ethereum, and run the decision by someone you trust. However, Ethereum is definitely a great place to start your cryptocurrency journey, even if you later decide to invest in something else!
