Ethereum's Fusaka Upgrade Promises Cost Reduction and Efficiency Enhancement

According to PANews, the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade is drawing attention for its engineering-focused improvements, aimed at reducing costs and enhancing efficiency without introducing new paradigms or concepts. Unlike previous upgrades such as the transition from PoW to PoS or the Dencun upgrade, Fusaka focuses on practical optimizations to address specific issues.The upgrade significantly reduces Layer 2 (L2) costs, primarily associated with data availability (DA) expenses for publishing data to Layer 1 (L1). Fusaka achieves this through an eightfold expansion using Blob technology and PeerDAS random sampling verification, cutting L2 costs substantially. While some believe that reducing L2 fees alone is insufficient to boost ecosystem activity, the upgrade's impact on specific application chains could stimulate growth in areas like real-world asset infrastructure and payment ecosystems.Additionally, the normalization of Blob fees and the introduction of a minimum Blob base fee (EIP-7918) aim to reignite expectations for ETH burning. Despite the Dencun upgrade leading to a temporary shift from deflation to mild inflation, Fusaka ensures that ETH continues to burn even when Blob demand is low, potentially returning to pre-Dencun burn levels and reinforcing Ethereum's narrative as a global settlement layer.The upgrade also increases the gas limit to 60 million, enhancing L1 throughput. While Ethereum's TPS improvements may seem modest compared to other blockchains, the shift from a Rollup Centric strategy to a dual-track approach of L1 settlement and L2 execution offers greater flexibility and potential.Furthermore, PeerDAS lowers the validator threshold by 85%, promoting decentralization and addressing concerns about institutional control over Ethereum. This lightweight implementation of Ethereum's sharding concept reduces node burdens, enhances scalability, and removes technical barriers for institutional participation, potentially leading to greater involvement from traditional finance giants like Fidelity and BlackRock.Overall, the Fusaka upgrade positions Ethereum as a more mature, stable, and efficient blockchain, capable of institutional expansion, dual-track development, and capturing micro-deflationary value. The question remains whether this enhanced $ETH is worthy of renewed trust.