Ethereum News Today: Ethereum Plans Fusaka Hard Fork for November Upgrade

Ethereum core developers have tentatively scheduled the Fusaka hard fork for early November, marking the next major upgrade to the Ethereum network. This upgrade follows the Pectra update, which introduced key changes such as account abstraction, increased validator staking limits, and improvements for layer-2 networks. The Fusaka upgrade aims to enhance the network’s efficiency and scalability, with 11 proposed Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). Notably, EIP-7825 is designed to boost network resilience against malicious attacks while contributing to scalability improvements. Another proposed change under consideration is increasing the Ethereum gas limit to 150 million. However, EIP-7907, which proposed to double the contract code size limit and introduce gas metering, has been removed to streamline testing. Additionally, the controversial EVM Object Format upgrade will not be included in this release.

Preparations for Fusaka are progressing, with the next development network launch scheduled for Wednesday, followed by public testnets in September and October. Developers are targeting a mainnet launch in early November, ideally before the Devconnect event set for Nov. 17–22. However, some community members, including Ethereum protocol support member Nixo, have expressed concerns about meeting this timeline. Attention is also turning to the next upgrade, Glamsterdam, with its proposed features set to be confirmed during the AllCoreDevs – Execution meeting. One of the potential upgrades includes a proposal by Ethereum core developer Barnabé Monnot to halve Ethereum’s block time from 12 seconds to six seconds. This change, if adopted, could greatly enhance the performance and user experience of decentralized applications and is expected to be included in the Glamsterdam upgrade scheduled for 2026.

In parallel, there is growing validator support for raising the Ethereum gas limit to 45 million, which would help reduce transaction costs and improve scalability. Vitalik Buterin pointed out that almost 50% of staked ETH already signaled in favor of this change. For now, the Ethereum community is focused on balancing ambitious improvements with careful coordination to avoid delays. Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently held a meeting with key blockchain industry players to discuss a potential token standard that would support the compliant issuance and transfer of tokenized securities. Among those attending the meeting were representatives from Ethereum-aligned organizations. The conversation mainly centered around integrating open standards like ERC-3643 and compliance frameworks like Chainlink’s Automated Compliance Engine (ACE) into the regulatory landscape to better align blockchain innovation with already existing financial regulations.

ERC-3643 is a token standard that was developed for compliant capital markets on Ethereum, and has been gaining momentum as a foundation for regulated on-chain finance. Chainlink’s ACE complements this by offering a smart-contract-based compliance framework for handling tokenized assets, including securities and real-world assets. According to Dennis O’Connell, president of the ERC-3643 Association, the meeting suggests that there is a major shift in the SEC’s tone, especially with the agency showing increased engagement and a willingness to understand how blockchain standards could fit in its oversight. O’Connell stated that the SEC’s Crypto Task Force did not previously appreciate the importance of open standards for blockchain-based finance, but the discussions helped prove how standardized frameworks could enable regulatory compliance while also allowing innovation to flourish. During the meeting, industry representatives presented proposals covering crucial elements like identity verification, compliance mechanisms, asset registries, and control processes necessary for tokenized securities to gain regulatory approval.

While the SEC did not commit to a definitive position on tokenized securities, it expressed openness to exploring how blockchain technologies can address key regulatory concerns. O’Connell described the meeting as the culmination of extensive behind-the-scenes efforts, and called it a major milestone for the industry. He added that the ERC-3643 Association and its partners intend to continue collaborating with the SEC and other government entities to ensure that the US does not fall behind in global blockchain regulation and adoption. The meeting was followed by encouraging remarks from SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who indicated that the agency is considering the creation of an innovation exemption in its regulatory framework to support tokenization. Atkins acknowledged the inevitable shift of assets onto blockchain networks and suggested the SEC may implement changes to accommodate new trading methods tailored to tokenized securities.