At mETH Protocol, we view change as an avenue to continue building.
While markets shift, Ethereum is quietly undergoing a critical infrastructure update. Here's a look at what's new in the Ethereum ecosystem, and how we're positioning mETH Protocol to capitalize on it.
The Fusaka Upgrade: Scaling the Foundation
Ethereum is currently undergoing its second major upgrade of the year, the Fusaka Upgrade. While previous upgrades focused on the consensus mechanism (The Merge) or withdrawals (Shapella), Fusaka is squarely focused on scalability and cost reduction for the L2 ecosystem.
The core of this upgrade relies on EIP-7594, better known as PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling).
PeerDAS solves a critical bottleneck. Currently, nodes must verify heavy amounts of data to confirm blocks. PeerDAS allows nodes to verify "samples" of data rather than the entire dataset. This efficiency allows the network to process significantly more data without increasing the hardware requirements for node operators.
To thoroughly understand this magnitude, we need to take a look at blobs, or the data packets rollups use to settle on Ethereum. In their current state, L2 blockchains are currently capped at 9 blobs per block. As of December 9th, this capacity will increase to 15 blobs, and after the January 7 upgrade, 21 blobs per block.
The downstream effects are substantial, and estimates suggest the ecosystem will move from roughly 12,000 TPS to a capacity of 100,000 TPS across the entire L2 landscape, a nearly eightfold multiplier. For the end-user, this technical expansion translates to direct cost savings. L2 transaction costs are projected to drop by 40-60% as rollups benefit from the increased data availability space.
Solving the Liquidity Lag
While transaction throughput is increasing, the Ethereum base layer still faces friction regarding validator entry and exit queues. Wait times have improved in the past weeks, dropping from highs of 40+ days to roughly 20 days currently. While this reduction is a step forward, a three-week settlement period for exiting a position remains inefficient for active capital management. In a volatile market, liquidity is premium.
This liquidity constraint is why we are particularly excited about our upcoming roadmap. Next week, we are preparing to deploy our Buffer Pool Upgrade, designed to significantly reduce reliance on Ethereum's current exit queues.
Our upgrade aims to leverage faster redemptions to provide quick liquidity access, keeping yield sustainable whether users choose to lend, borrow, or loop their mETH/cmETH. With a battle-tested, curated ecosystem of T1 partners, institutions can securely trust mETH Protocol as their go-to source for yield, rather than undergo the hassle of staking directly and often earning less fruitful rewards.
Disclaimer: The purpose of this content is educational only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, tax, or other advice.