Mike Smith
11 hours ago
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Ethereum developers have confirmed that in late November the network will receive its second major update of the year, called Fusaka. It combines two hardforks - for the consensus and executive layers - and aims to lower technical barriers for both newcomers and large-scale staking pools. The key change lies in EIP-7594, known as PeerDAS: validators will only download small chunks of data instead of entire “blobs”, dramatically increasing throughput for rollup networks and making Layer-2 transactions cheaper.
In total, Fusaka is making twelve amendments to the protocol. In addition to PeerDAS, the upgrade clarifies the formula for calculating fees, sets a strict block size ceiling, and adds developer tools to simplify work with modern cryptographic standards. This combo turns the base layer into a more predictable platform and makes it compatible with enterprise security systems.
The bonus for node operators is especially noticeable: running their own node will require less disk space and traffic, and thus will become economically justified even for teams with a couple of validators. VanEck analysts are confident that infrastructure companies with dozens of nodes will reduce costs for equipment and backup copies, although the main economic effect will be felt by new participants who previously had to rent expensive servers.
Fusaka logically continues the chain of rapid upgrades: after Dencun last year and Pectra this spring, the network is moving into the season of corporate growth. At the same time, developers are already testing the next Glamsterdam update for 2026 - it will bring built-in proposer-builder separation and increase transparency of block production. At this rate, Ethereum is turning into a living laboratory, where the cadence of improvements is comparable to the speed of releases of popular mobile OSes.
The shift of activity to rollup platforms will reduce the commission flow of the main layer, but will strengthen the role of ETH as a security pledge and settlement asset. The more data moved into “blobs”, the higher the demand for coin for steaking and paying for checks. PeerDAS further reduces the traffic load, which is why institutional custodial services are already including the launch of their own nodes in their 2026 budgets.
If the two remaining testnets on October 14 and October 28 pass without surprises, the exact date of the hardfork will appear right after Halloween. Participants in the ecosystem are preparing the infrastructure in advance, because previous upgrades have shown that those who migrate at the last minute risk missing the first days of increased activity and the associated commissions.
