A new initiative in the Ethereum ecosystem, EIP-7983, aims to change gas usage rules in transactions. This proposal was developed by Ethereum's founder Vitalik Buterin and researcher Toni Wahrstätter.
Single Transaction Gas Limit and Its Reasons
According to the proposal, the gas limit for a single transaction will be set at 16.77 million. This aims to prevent large transactions from consuming all the block space, causing congestion for other users. Thus, large transactions will be required to be divided into smaller parts.
Zero-Knowledge Layers and Parallel Transaction Flow
Authorities believe this change may facilitate the development of zero-knowledge proof-based layers. Smaller and fixed transaction sizes are thought to improve Ethereum's scalability by distributing transactions across multiple threads. Transitioning to parallel transaction infrastructure is seen as essential to overcoming current bottlenecks.
> "Breaking up large transactions makes participation in distributed verification systems easier. While zkVMs can theoretically parallelize within a transaction, this is usually not preferred in practice due to increased complexity. Therefore, downsizing transactions seems more reasonable." — Toni Wahrstätter.
Justifications and Comparisons with Previous Proposals
A similar proposal in the past, EIP-7825, suggested a 30 million gas limit; however, with EIP-7983, this limit is nearly halved. The new limit aims to balance network security and block verification times, indicating stricter control.
> "I strive to simplify Ethereum’s core. My priority is to reduce complexity and potential vulnerabilities without completely eliminating advanced use cases." — Vitalik Buterin.
By tightening the gas limit per transaction, Ethereum may be seeking to establish a more secure and predictable ecosystem. This change is also viewed as a significant step in preparing the ecosystem for future parallel transaction capabilities.
