The capacity of the Ethereum network increased on Monday night (3). Developers agreed to increase the "gas" limit without the need for a network split (hard fork).
Going back a few steps, network fees (gas fees) are a way to reward validators for their work in authenticating the information in each block.
However, there is a limit to the information capacity for each block, called the network's "gas units".
Thus, the network's information capacity increased to 36 million units after the Ethereum network reached a peak of 32 million units.
The change was implemented after half of the validators supported the adjustment. Increasing the limit allows Ethereum to process more transactions and more complex operations, as well as optimize the use of transfer rates within the blockchain.
In other words, the update opens the door to the creation of more sophisticated decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
Ethereum vs. Solana
The update comes amid a strong appreciation of Ethereum's competitor, Solana, the fifth largest cryptocurrency in the world and one of the largest layer one (L1) platforms in the sector.
While ETH has fallen by around 15.7% in the year to 2025, SOL has risen by 11.4% in the same period.
Solana is a blockchain created in the wake of Ethereum killers, that is, projects born to oust Ethereum as the main L1 network, where decentralized applications and other cryptocurrency protocols are built.
Solana has recently gained prominence in the market for being the preferred environment for investors to create memecoins.
This is because the SOL blockchain has cheaper transaction fees and is faster than Ethereum's, which makes it the favorite for the birth of all sorts of projects - including those born from internet jokes.
