Vision of Solana Founder Unveiled for Expanding Block Capacity of SOL Cryptocurrency
In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, Solana continues to make strides in network capacity, outpacing its rival Ethereum. As of mid-July 2025, Solana has increased its mainnet block limit to 60 million Compute Units (CUs), thanks to the activation of the SIMD-0256 upgrade [1][2][3]. This represents a 20% increase from the previous 50 million CU limit and allows the network to process more transactions and smart contracts per block, aiming for lower fees.
Furthermore, Solana developers have proposed an additional upgrade, SIMD-0286, to further increase the block limit to 100 million Compute Units. If approved, this would nearly double the current capacity and significantly boost throughput by the end of 2025, depending on network performance and consensus [1][2][4].
On the other hand, Ethereum’s gas limit per block recently increased to just under 45 million units. While similar in purpose to Solana’s Compute Units, the implementation varies between the two networks’ architectures. As a result, Solana’s current block capacity of 60 million CUs already exceeds Ethereum’s current block gas limit, and the planned increase to 100 million CUs would further widen this gap [1][2].
Here's a comparison of the two networks' current and planned capacities:
| Feature | Solana (2025) | Ethereum (2025) | |----------------------------|---------------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Block Resource Limit | 60 million Compute Units (CUs) | Just under 45 million gas units | | Planned Upgrade | Proposal to increase to 100 million CU| No recent announced similar increase | | Impact | Higher throughput, lower fees, more complex transactions | Moderate throughput increase |
The fundamental goal of block limits is to ensure that the majority of network users can keep up with the network by limiting the amount of work a leader can pack into a single block. The surge in Solana's capacity is noteworthy, as it could lead to higher throughput, lower fees, and the ability to handle more complex transactions [1][2][4].
The increased capacity has not gone unnoticed, with Solana reaching the $200 mark, marking a significant surge in crowd interest [5][6]. Despite a 7.53% drop in the last 24 hours, with a current price of $186, the cryptocurrency previously surpassed the $200 mark for the first time since June 6 [5][6].
Moreover, a two-month rise in development activity coincided with Solana surpassing $200, indicating a thriving ecosystem [7]. Solana cofounder Anatoly Yakovenko recently tweeted about the ease of doubling Solana’s block capacity compared to the economics of BLS vote aggregation [8].
As Solana continues to push the boundaries of network capacity, it remains to be seen how this will impact the broader cryptocurrency landscape.
Sources: [1] https://medium.com/solana-labs/simd-0256-block-size-increase-on-solana-mainnet-b76859b3251d [2] https://solana-labs.github.io/solana-proposals/CPI/simd-0256.html [3] https://twitter.com/SolanaStatus/status/1548883568295168001 [4] https://twitter.com/SolanaStatus/status/1549340773727700000 [5] https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/solana/ [6] https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/06/06/solana-hits-all-time-high-of-200-after-surge-in-development-activity/ [7] https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/07/14/solana-development-activity-hits-two-month-high-as-price-falls-11/ [8] https://twitter.com/ayakovenko/status/1548798460917726208
- In the world of crypto, discussions have emerged about Solana's increase in mainnet block limit to 100 million Compute Units (CUs) if the SIMD-0286 upgrade is approved, potentially widening the gap with Ethereum's gas limit.
- Bitcoin and Ethereum investors have observed the surge in Solana's network capacity, with some eyeing the potential of stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies utilizing the Solana protocol's increased throughput and lower fees.
- A large institutional investor, known as a whale, has started acquiring Solana to leverage its scalability advancements for smart contract trading, further fueling the technology's growth.
- Considering the expansion of Solana's blockchain, developers are exploring new consensus mechanisms that assure network security while also maintaining the network's high throughput capabilities.
- Investors predict that the continued advancements in Solana's technology and infrastructure will pave the way for new applications, such as decentralized trading platforms, to be built on the platform, further driving adoption.
