Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade goes live

This year’s second major upgrade of Ethereum, Fusaka, has gone live, bringing forward supercharged data capacity, reduced transaction costs, and enhanced usability.

The upgrade went live on the Ethereum mainnet at 9:49 p.m. UTC on Wednesday, during Epoch 411392, featuring peer data availability sampling (PeerDAS) as its main highlight, which greatly enhances scaling for Ethereum and Layer 2 networks.

Earlier this week, the Ethereum Foundation detailed Fusaka’s impact on users, developers, node operators, Layer 2s, rollups, and enterprises via a thread on the Ethereum X account.

PeerDAS boosts layer-2s with faster processing and lower fees

According to the Foundation, Fusaka moves Ethereum closer to “near-instant transactions”, improving speed for a smoother user experience. It says, “Fusaka lays the groundwork for ‘instant-feel’ user experiences. Based on preconfirmations, transaction latency is reduced from minutes to milliseconds. Combined with lower fees, this opens the door to a new tier of usability.”

For Layer-2s and rollups, PeerDAS unlocks up to 8 times the data throughput, offering a far more efficient way to process network information. In simple terms, PeerDAS breaks rollup data into smaller fragments, reducing the amount of data nodes must download and upload. This enables faster processing and more efficient interaction with the Ethereum mainnet.

The Foundation noted that for rollups, this means lower blob fees, more space to grow, and lower fees for users—all while maintaining the network’s decentralization.

Analysts eye Fusaka as catalyst for Ethereum price revival

Analysts had also speculated that Fusaka could spark a revival in ETH’s price. MerlijnTrader highlighted on X how Ethereum’s previous upgrade, Pectra, positively impacted ETH’s market performance, suggesting Fusaka could drive even greater gains this time.

Pectra sparked a 58% surge, and Fusaka is designed to hit even harder. The price hasn’t yet caught up to the fundamentals. On Nov. 29, Bitcoin veteran @LLuciano_BTC shared similar thoughts with his 2 million X followers, stating that Fusaka feels like a major catalyst for upside and that Ethereum is finally demonstrating how far scaling can go while staying true to its core design.

Ethereum’s price increased by more than 13% since December 1, driven by a wider recovery and rising excitement ahead of its first major upgrade today, the Fusaka one that aims to make the network’s transaction processing smoother.

While ETH is still up by over 17% for the entire month, the recent bounce and many technical indicators appear similar to those observed just before the Pectra upgrade in May 2023, when Ethereum rallied 56% in seven days.

During the Pectra phase (May 6–13), Ethereum spiked 56% after flashing standard bullish divergence. This pattern occurs when the price makes a lower low, but the RSI (Relative Strength Index, a momentum indicator that ranges from 0 to 100) makes a higher low. It often signals that sellers are losing control even as the chart still looks weak—more of a trend reversal.

Between November 4 and December 1, ETH made a lower low, but RSI formed a higher low. That mirrors the exact structure that appeared before the Pectra move.

Big holders also see early accumulation. The number of Ethereum addresses holding at least $1 million has increased from 13,322 to 13,945, representing a 4.68% rise. As each wallet has a minimum of $1 million in holdings, this represents at least $623 million of extra capital among the network’s top-tier holders. Historically, big buyers stepping in ahead of a major technical upgrade is a good sign.