Vitalik Buterin: Boosting Layer 1 Gas Limits by Tenfold Provides Major Advantages

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin The article delves into the motivations behind raising the Layer 1 gas limits, particularly in the context of an Ethereum ecosystem where Layer 2 solutions are prevalent. 

A vigorous discussion within the Ethereum community revolves around the optimal amount to increase the Layer 1 gas limit. Recently, this limit was adjusted from 30 million to 36 million, representing a 20% increase, and there is momentum for further augmentations. Many of these enhancements are made possible through recent and expected improvements in technology, such as increased efficiency in Ethereum clients, diminished storage requirements from EIP-4444, and the eventual shift towards stateless clients.

However, Vitalik Buterin poses a critical inquiry before moving forward with these adjustments: in light of Ethereum's rollup-focused strategy, do higher Layer 1 gas limits truly offer long-term benefits? While it's relatively straightforward to raise gas limits, rolling them back presents challenges, with potential repercussions on centralization.

He underscores that amplifying Layer 1 gas limits could help simplify and secure app development, notwithstanding the fact that a majority of applications may reside on Layer 2 networks. Yet, Vitalik stresses that his intention is not to debate the merit of hosting more apps on Layer 1 but to point out that enlarging Layer 1 capacities by about ten times could yield substantial long-term benefits, irrespective of the broader discussion.

Vitalik Buterin Reveals Gas Usage Estimates for Diverse Scenarios: Censorship Resistance, Asset Transfers Between Layer 2 Networks, Mass Exits from Layer 2, and More

Vitalik Buterin investigates multiple use cases to determine the necessary Layer 1 gas quantities, concluding that under the current technological landscape, the gas needed for censorship resistance is less than 0.01x. However, with ideally advanced technology, the requirements hold steady. To achieve affordability in Layer 1 gas, he suggests a scaling of about 4.5x. For asset transitions between Layer 2 networks, he finds that the present gas needs are approximately 278x, while optimal technology brings that down to 5.5x, necessitating around 6x for cost-effectiveness.

Regarding mass exits from Layer 2 platforms, he estimates that current technology would require gas between 3x and 117x, while with ideal tech, it could range from 1x to 9x, and for affordability, the required range might be 1x to 16.8x. When it comes to issuing ERC-20 tokens, the gas requirement sits below 0.01x with current advancements, mirroring ideal conditions, but affordability could demand a range of 1x to 18x.

Taking into account operations related to keystore wallets and proof submissions from Layer 2, Vitalik Buterin calculates that the current gas requirement for keystore interactions is around 3.3x, dropping to 0.5x with ideal technology, and needing about 1.1x to remain affordable. For proof submissions from Layer 2 networks, the current figures hit 4x, 0.08x under ideal circumstances, and roughly 10x to maintain affordability.

Vitalik Buterin He also highlights that the gas demands for Layer 1—whether under present or theoretical conditions—are cumulative. For instance, if keystore wallet processes account for half of the current gas capacity, ample space must still be available to accommodate a Layer 2 mass exodus. Additionally, his cost evaluations are rough estimates, and predicting gas price reactions to gas limit changes, especially over time, is quite complicated. There's substantial uncertainty about the evolution of the fee market, even with consistent usage patterns.

Ultimately, his analysis indicates that there is notable merit in increasing Layer 1 gas limits by roughly ten times, even in a scenario where Layer 2 predominates. This suggests that scaling Layer 1 over the next couple of years could be advantageous, regardless of the long-range outlook.