Ethereum Needs Higher L1 Gas Limits to Build L2 Future

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin recently made a blog post discussing an increase in L1 gas limits. Buterin claimed that the blockchain’s future rests with L2 protocols, but L1 gas upgrades will increase functionality and keep the core vision intact.

Buterin discussed the need to deal with bad actors on multiple levels, quarantining sketchy ERC-20 tokens and allowing users to mass exit an L2 project.

Ethereum’s Gas Limits Could Change the Future

As Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, made this post, the project he co-founded has been in a moment of prolonged turmoil. Leadership challenges and community pressure have rocked the ecosystem’s foundations, and its future looks unclear. Many people question whether it’s still worth investing in Ethereum in 2025. Buterin, however, is going out on a limb to advocate for one crucial Ethereum reform: increased gas limits.

“Even in a world where most usage and applications are on L2, there is value in significantly scaling, because it enables simpler and more secure patterns of application development. This post will not attempt to argue… that more applications in general should be on L1. Rather, the goal is to argue that eg. ~10x scaling on L1 has long-term value,” he said.

Gas limits are an important component of Ethereum’s ecosystem, and Buterin supported increases for months. Last October, he released a roadmap describing “The Surge,” a massive Layer-2 (L2) expansion. This first document barely mentions gas limits. Months later, he refined this proposal, further clarifying his vision for L2 upgrades. On this one, he acknowledges gas more directly.

Essentially, he went through a list of Ethereum’s core use cases and described how increased L1 (Layer-1) gas limits would help L2 functions. Even though Buterin envisions L2 protocols as the blockchain’s real future, they’re all built on top of L1. Higher gas limits would give the ecosystem more counter-measures against bad actors, alongside other advantages.

To name a few examples, L1 is more decentralized than L2, and higher resources would allow users more flexibility to quickly divest from sketchy protocols. Buterin is explicitly preparing for a scenario where over 100 million users would be able to safely exit a protocol en masse. Hostile ERC-20 tokens are also a security concern, more easily quarantined with a strong L1.

Buterin described several other use cases that could benefit from higher L1 gas limits, such as wallet operations and proof submissions. Despite all these arguments, however, it’s currently unclear whether his proposals will catch on. Buterin defends that 10x L1 gas limits would benefit Ethereum over the next two years, in a moment when the chain is facing hard, pressing challenges.

In any event, this proposal shows Buterin’s long-term commitment to and confidence in Ethereum. He isn’t alone in this faith; despite falling prices, investors are buying the dip in droves. Ultimately, moments of crisis have not disrupted Buterin’s ability to plan Ethereum’s future, even years down the line.