Ethereum security revolution coming? Vitalik Buterin drops bold proposal

• Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has proposed a gas cap per transaction to boost the chain’s security.
• Ethereum could become safer, more stable, and ready for institutional use cases. 
• The proposed upgrade does not have a major impact on existing users and supports existing dApps. 

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed an improvement to the blockchain to boost Ether’s network security. Buterin plans to cap each Ethereum transaction at 16.77 million gas and reduce the risk of attacks on the blockchain. 

Buterin’s proposal aims to address Ethereum network issues like optimizing compatibility for roll-ups and parallel execution efficiency. The proposal, EIP-7983 is currently in the draft stage. 

Ethereum security boost incoming?

Ethereum could see a boost in its security if there is a lower risk of Denial of Service (DoS attack) and the stability of the chain is improved. Buterin proposes to improve this and the performance of the chain through an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) labeled EIP-7983. 

In short, EIP-7983 attempts to improve predictability in transaction execution and builds on prior efforts like a proposal to limit maximum gas usage to 30 million, EIP-7825. EIP-7983 calls for halving the maximum gas usage and sets a cap of 16.77 million gas units for each Ethereum transaction, and the barrier will have no impact on the majority of users. 

The proposed cap is large enough to cover the needs of decentralized applications on the Ethereum blockchain. 

Currently, a single transaction on the Ethereum blockchain could consume the entire capacity of a block. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability in the chain and make the network unstable and unpredictable. 

Vitalik’s proposal calls for a better distribution of resources on the Ethereum blockchain. The new cap is like a stricter rule and will help resist attacks from malicious entities. The blockchain will simply reject any transaction that exceeds the cap and effectively change the logic that secures the Ethereum chain. 

Toni Wahrstätter, a researcher at the Applied Research Group (ARG) of the Ethereum Foundation, is the co-author of the proposal. Wahrstätter notes that the new rule is not expected to disrupt a majority of the transactions that already consume far less gas.