Ethereum's Multi-Layered Scaling Strategy Takes Shape
Ethereum is facing a major challenge in processing more activity without significantly increasing hardware and bandwidth requirements, making it difficult for independent users to operate nodes.
To address this issue, Ethereum's scaling strategy combines Layer 2 rollups with improvements to its base layer. Rollups process transactions separately, then publish compressed data and commitments to Ethereum, allowing mainnet to focus on settlement, security, and data availability.
The Dencun upgrade introduced EIP-4844 in March 2024, creating temporary data objects called blobs specifically for rollups. Each blob carries up to 128 KB of data, providing L2 networks with a more efficient alternative to conventional calldata.
Pectra, activated in May 2025, doubled Ethereum's blob target from three to six per block and raised the maximum from six to nine, increasing rollup data capacity while preparing Ethereum for its next scaling step.