Vitalik Proposes Gas Cap to Enhance Ethereum Security and Stability

July 6, 2025 – Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a new Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP-7983) to cap transaction gas usage, aiming to strengthen the network’s security, stability, and compatibility with emerging technologies like zkVMs.

The proposal, co-authored with Ethereum researcher Toni Wahrstätter, introduces a fixed gas limit of 16.77 million for individual transactions, addressing potential denial-of-service (DoS) risks and ensuring more predictable network behavior.

Gas Cap to Boost Ethereum’s Security and Predictability

Vitalik Buterin and Toni Wahrstätter’s EIP-7983 suggests limiting the maximum gas any single transaction can use to 16.77 million, or 2²⁴ units. This restriction prevents any one transaction from consuming an entire block’s gas limit, reducing the likelihood of DoS attacks and improving network reliability.

The cap also aims to create more predictable transaction execution costs, helping both users and developers better anticipate gas usage.

zkVM Compatibility and Future-Proofing

The gas cap is particularly beneficial for zero-knowledge virtual machines (zkVMs), an emerging technology critical to Ethereum’s scaling roadmap. By encouraging large transactions to be broken into smaller, manageable chunks, EIP-7983 paves the way for smoother zkVM integration.

The proposal carefully balances security and functionality, ensuring it won’t disrupt common use cases like DeFi interactions or contract deployments.

Vitalik’s Broader Vision for Ethereum

EIP-7983 reflects Buterin’s ongoing efforts to simplify Ethereum’s base protocol, reduce complexity, and enhance security. In May 2025, he proposed a long-term roadmap to streamline Ethereum’s architecture, inspired by Bitcoin’s minimalist ethos.

Buterin’s recent advocacy for “pluralistic identity” systems and partially stateless nodes further demonstrates his focus on privacy, scalability, and user empowerment in Ethereum’s evolution.

What Has Happened So Far

• May 2025: Vitalik Buterin calls for simplification of Ethereum’s base protocol for greater efficiency.
• June 2025: Buterin introduces the concept of pluralistic identity for decentralized identity systems.
• July 5, 2025: Vitalik and Wahrstätter publish EIP-7983 proposing a transaction gas cap.