Cryptocurrency analysis firm Arkham has published a detailed assessment of Ethereum's current position and the highly anticipated Fusaka network upgrade, scheduled for launch on December 3, 2025. According to the report, Ethereum continues to lead the DeFi ecosystem with the highest total value locked (TVL) among Layer-1 networks, maintaining its dominance over rivals even after a decade. However, critical debates persist around the network's future, including the validity of the 'digital oil' narrative, the impact of Layer-2 growth on value accumulation, and long-term economic sustainability.
Arkham's analysis highlights that Ethereum's price performance lagged behind Bitcoin during the 2024–2025 period, despite ETF inflows and growing institutional adoption. While ETH is increasingly favored in institutional treasuries, investors are concerned about how much value remains on the mainnet versus being diverted to Layer-2 rollups. The expansion of the L2 ecosystem enhances scalability but raises questions about weakening value flow on L1.
The Fusaka update is positioned as a pivotal solution, moving Ethereum toward a more efficient, modular, and rollup-centric architecture. Key enhancements include increased blob capacity, raised gas limits, and the implementation of PeerDAS (EIP-7594) with a data sampling system, which is expected to boost data processing capacity by up to eight times and reduce L2 costs. For users, this translates to nearly instantaneous transactions and lower fees, while mobile wallets will gain hardware-compatible passkey support for secure, cost-effective logins.
Developers will benefit from pre-approval-based mechanisms that cut transaction latency from minutes to milliseconds, enabling 'instant' interactions in DeFi applications. Node operators face changes too, with the block gas limit rising from approximately 45 million to 60 million, and 'history expiry' implementation promising lighter, cheaper node operation long-term. Enterprise integration is streamlined through native support for the secp256r1 curve and more predictable blob base fees, aligning with security standards and simplifying large-scale adoption.
Arkham emphasizes that Fusaka is crucial for Ethereum to address structural challenges, including cross-tier value sharing, gas cost trajectories, and the growth of the tokenized asset economy. The upgrade aims to reinforce Ethereum's security and decentralization while supporting rollup growth, potentially shaping its role in the broader crypto market.
