Ethereum core developers and researchers recently gathered for an interoperability hack week, making significant progress on both long-term research directions and short-term implementations like the Fusaka upgrade and gas limit increases. This special edition of our monthly updates covers key highlights from the collaborative event.
Short-Term Implementations
Fusaka Upgrade Progress
Developers focused on:
- Launching
fusaka-devnet-1on Day 1 - Deploying
fusaka-devnet-2by Day 5 - Identifying protocol improvements requiring community governance approval
👉 Track Fusaka testnet timelines
Next Steps:
- Deploy
fusaka-devnet-2 - Target Sepolia testnet migration by late summer
- Potentially skip
devnet-3phase
Gas Limit Stress Testing
Teams conducted throughput experiments to:
- Identify network capacity bottlenecks
- Establish safe gas limit thresholds
- Develop client optimizations for 45M throughput levels
Key Outcomes:
- Immediate safe increase consensus reached
- Optimization patches releasing next week
- Public dashboard for network metrics planned
Long-Term Research Directions
Slot Restructuring Proposals
Discussions covered:
- Shortening slot times (current: 12s → proposed: 8s)
- Rebalancing sub-slot timing
- Impacts on MEV markets and block builder competition
Benefits Identified:
- Improved data freshness
- Enhanced censorship resistance
- Faster cross-chain interoperability
👉 View slot structure proposals
History Expiration
Breakthroughs in:
- Mainnet implementation roadmap
- Era file standardization
- Rollout strategies for pre-Merge data pruning
Upcoming Milestones:
- Technical blog post in Q3
- Portal Network integration updates
Consensus Layer Hardening
26 improvement areas identified including:
- Checkpoint sync from non-finalized states
- Resource optimization during non-finality
- Peer scoring system enhancements
Layer 2 & ZK Technology Sessions
L2 Feedback Summit
Key requests from major rollups:
- Increased blob capacity
- Faster finality mechanisms
- EVM change coordination protocols
ZK Research Collaborations
Focus areas:
- Guest program primitives (RISC-V standardization)
- Proof system security frameworks
- Stateless client zk-verification roadmaps
FAQ Section
Q: When will Fusaka launch on mainnet?
A: Current projections estimate Q4 2025 following successful testnet phases.
Q: How will gas limit increases affect users?
A: Optimizations aim to maintain current fee levels while doubling network capacity.
Q: What's the timeline for history expiration?
A: The first phase removing pre-Merge history could deploy by end 2025.
Conclusion
The Berlin Interop achieved remarkable progress through:
- Accelerated protocol development
- Stakeholder-aligned research prioritization
- Cross-team technical coordination
With multiple breakthroughs achieved, Ethereum's 2025 roadmap appears increasingly ambitious yet achievable.