7 December 2025
In response to Succinct Labs' recent breakthrough in real-time proofs within the ecosystem, Vitalik Buterin has expressed his hopes of increasing the Layer 1 gas limit by ten to a hundred times.
In a recent post on X, Buterin responded to a user’s critical comment about an announcement from Uma Roy, co-founder of Succinct Labs. Her team demonstrated a full “zkVM” proof system for the execution layer of the ecosystem. Buterin congratulated the team on their progress, but also pointed out four key areas of concern that both the project and the larger network need to address in order to make real-time proofs a reliable feature for Layer 1 users.
“Indeed, great work by @pumatheuma and the team, but there are still a few steps to go before we reach the end goal,” Buterin said. He stressed that Succinct Labs’ demo for real-time Ethereum (ETH) proof mechanism was tested on average cases, not the most extreme situations. “We need worst-case tests to ensure the safety of the mechanism for broader L1 use,” he added.
Buterin also indicated that the Ethereum team is aiming to increase the Layer 1 gas limit by as much as 35,99-35,98 times its current numbers. Currently, Ethereum’s average gas limit is 1 million, up slightly from 10 million the day before. “We want to increase the L100 gas limit by XNUMX-XNUMX times,” Buterin enthused.
Buterin also pointed out that Succinct’s proof mechanism does not yet have formal verification, which is essential to ensuring a seamless, bug-free experience for users. Today, the real-time proof system consumes about 100 kilowatts to generate proofs at the speed shown. However, for broader participation, the energy cost should be reduced to about 10 kW. This would allow small teams and individual users to perform their own real-time proofs without high energy costs. “After all, who wouldn’t want to have their own proof-generating unit at home?”
Compared to a year ago, on May 21, 2024, the ecosystem’s gas cap has increased by almost 20% and currently stands at almost 6 million more than the 30 million a year ago. If Ethereum manages to increase the gas cap by 10 to 100 times, it could even reach 360 million or even 3,6 billion gas units. This limit sets the maximum amount of gas required to process a transaction or smart contract on the network. It acts as a cap, preventing transactions from consuming excessive resources, which could lead to high fees or congestion on the network.
Even with the availability of real-time evidence systems on the blockchain, each transaction requires a relatively large amount of gas. To make these systems viable on a larger scale, a higher gas limit is necessary than what the network’s current block gas limit allows. In February of this year, the Ethereum network increased its gas limit for the first time since 2021, to 32 million gas units. This increase was approved by approximately 51,1% of validators without the need for a hard fork.
What are the main challenges for Succinct Labs?
Succinct Labs needs to implement formal verification and lower energy requirements to enable broader participation.
How much can the Ethereum gas limit theoretically increase?
The gas limit may increase to 360 million to 3,6 billion gas units if the 10 to 100 times increase is successful.
What happened to Ethereum's gas limit in February 2025?
In February 2025, Ethereum increased its gas limit for the first time since 2021, from 30 million to 32 million gas units.
So don't be surprised by the developments in the crypto world! It's an exciting time and the future of Ethereum looks promising! What role will you play in this evolution?
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