Nearly 50% of Validators Back 45M Gas Limit on Ethereum

- Half of staked ETH validators support raising block capacity to 45 million gas units. - The change could expand transaction throughput on Ethereum’s Layer 1 blockchain. On July 20, 2025, The Block reported that nearly half of Ethereum validators signaled support to raise the per-block gas limit to 45 million units. This move is part of the "pump the gas" initiative, which aims to enhance transaction capacity on Ethereum's base layer. With validators representing close to 50% of staked ETH backing the proposal, it reflects a significant shift in the blockchain's operational paradigm. In line with this initiative, validators have already proposed several Ethereum blocks with a gas limit exceeding 39 million, an 8% increase over the previous 36 million unit threshold. This adjustment seeks to accommodate more transactions per block, reduce congestion, and improve Ethereum's scalability. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has publicly endorsed the initiative, calling it "safe" while crediting recent improvements in the Geth node client that have reduced storage costs and streamlined validator operations. However, the proposal has tradeoffs, as it requires higher computational and storage demands that may challenge smaller node operators and increase centralization risks. According to data from CoinMarketCap on July 20, Ethereum (ETH) was valued at $3,746.40 as of 23:15 UTC, marking a 4.59% increase in 24-hour trading volume.