Ethereum tests Fusaka upgrade on Sepolia
Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade has been activated on the Sepolia testnet, representing the second of three rollout stages aimed at boosting network scalability and performance. Fusaka introduces performance and consensus improvements, notably increasing the block gas limit to 60 million to support more transactions and complex smart contracts. The Sepolia deployment stress-tests these changes, focusing on stability under higher loads. Key to Fusaka is Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS), which allows validators to check transaction data by sampling small pieces from various peers instead of storing all network data, easing node requirements and increasing scalability. Following Sepolia, a final testnet deployment on Hoodi is scheduled for Oct. 28, with a mainnet release expected in December. Recent Ethereum upgrades have included the Dencun (March 2024), reducing gas fees by up to 95%; Pectra (May 2024), which raised staking caps and expanded fee flexibility; and The Merge (September 2022), which shifted the network to proof-of-stake and drastically cut energy consumption. The Shanghai upgrade (April 2023) enabled staked ETH withdrawals, completing Ethereum’s move to proof-of-stake.
