Ethereum completed its second BPO hard fork this Wednesday, increasing the blob limit from 15 to 21, with a single block data capacity reaching 2,688 KB. This significantly enhances network scalability and reduces Layer 2 transaction costs. Subsequent plans include raising the Gas Limit from 60 million to 80 million, and the Glamsterdam upgrade in 2026 will introduce “Perfect Parallel Processing” technology, pushing the Gas cap to 200 million.
(Background: Vitalik announces: The “Impossible Triangle” of blockchain has been cracked, PeerDAS and ZK-EVM solve Ethereum’s throughput and security issues)
(Additional context: Tom Lee’s latest prediction: Ethereum could reach $250,000, with a market cap potentially soaring to $30 trillion, surpassing the combined value of the seven major US stocks)

Table of Contents

• What is Blob? Why is the upgrade important?
• Practical impact on Layer 2
• The main event in 2026: Glamsterdam hard fork
• Long-term significance for the Ethereum ecosystem

Ethereum’s scalability received a major boost this Wednesday (January 7). The second Blob Parameter-Only (BPO) hard fork officially took effect at 9:00 AM Taipei time, increasing the blob limit from 15 to 21. This marks the first step in a series of scalability upgrades planned for 2026.

What is Blob? Why is the upgrade important?

Blob (Binary Large Object) is a revolutionary technology introduced in Ethereum’s 2024 Dencun upgrade. It provides a dedicated “temporary data storage area” for Layer 2 networks, allowing Rollup solutions to bundle transaction data on-chain at extremely low costs.

Each blob unit can hold 128 KB of data. After this upgrade, Ethereum can carry up to 21 blobs per block, meaning the data capacity per block jumps from 1,920 KB to 2,688 KB, a 40% increase.

Key Data Overview:

• Blob limit: 15 → 21 (+40%)
• Blob target: 10 → 14 (+40%)
• Single block data capacity: 1,920 KB → 2,688 KB
• Activation time: UTC 2026/1/7 01:01:11

It is noteworthy that this BPO hard fork also raises the target value from 10 to 14. Developers generally believe this indicator is more important than the limit itself.

The reason is: if the network operates close to the 21-blob limit for a long time, it could put excessive pressure on node bandwidth and storage. The target value is set to keep the network at a healthy load under normal conditions, only reaching the limit during demand surges.

Practical impact on Layer 2

More blob space means more transactions can be bundled on-chain via Rollup, directly lowering transaction costs on mainstream Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base. This is a significant benefit for DeFi users seeking low fees and high-frequency traders.

In addition to scaling L2, expanding blob capacity also helps stabilize Ethereum mainnet Gas fees. According to YCharts data, since the first BPO hard fork on December 9, 2025, Ethereum’s transaction fees have become noticeably more stable.

As more data is diverted to blob space, mainnet congestion decreases, and Gas fees become more manageable. This is a tangible improvement for everyday user transaction experiences.

Besides the blob upgrade, Ethereum core developers are actively discussing another key scaling measure: raising the network Gas Limit.

At the All Core Developers meeting on December 15, 2025, participants discussed increasing the Gas Limit from the current 60 million to 80 million. This would directly increase the number of transactions and smart contract operations per block, further boosting throughput and potentially lowering costs.

The main event in 2026: Glamsterdam hard fork

Even more anticipated is the Glamsterdam hard fork scheduled for 2026. This upgrade will bring two revolutionary changes:

Glamsterdam plans to significantly raise the Gas Limit from 80 million to 200 million, more than tripling the current level. This will provide ample block space for complex institutional DeFi applications and large-scale on-chain activities.

More importantly, Glamsterdam will introduce “Block Access Lists” via EIP-7928, enabling “Perfect Parallel Processing”.

This technology will upgrade Ethereum’s current “single-lane” transaction processing model to a “multi-lane highway.” Multiple transactions can be processed simultaneously, rather than queued sequentially, greatly increasing transaction throughput.

Long-term significance for the Ethereum ecosystem

This upgrade marks Ethereum’s entry into the “high-speed scalability” phase. From the introduction of blob in 2024’s Dencun, to the 2025 Pectra upgrade increasing staking limits, and now the BPO hard fork and upcoming Glamsterdam, Ethereum’s scalability path is becoming clearer.

As Layer 2 transaction costs continue to decline and mainnet throughput increases, Ethereum is poised in 2026 to support larger-scale RWA (Real-World Asset) tokenization, institutional-grade DeFi applications, and trillions of dollars in on-chain assets.

This is not just a technical upgrade but a crucial step toward Ethereum’s vision of becoming the “world computer.”