Ethereum marks 11 years with doubled gas limits, rollups handling 95% of transactions, new institutional ETPs with staking, and Ethereum Foundation staff turnover.
Tech & Launches ·
Ethereum reached its 11-year anniversary in July with significant network upgrades and institutional adoption, though the token faces steep headwinds. The gas limit has doubled to 60 million, with rollups processing roughly 95% of transactions while base layer fees remain accessible—a plain ETH transfer costs around $0.20. Morgan Stanley and BlackRock both launched spot ether exchange-traded products that stake portions of their holdings, leveraging a tax-safe harbor regulation to distribute staking rewards without additional tax liability.
The Ethereum Foundation experienced significant organizational strain, with approximately 20% of its workforce departing over a five-month stretch. Two co-executive directors—Tomasz Stańczak in February and Hsiao-Wei Wang in June—stepped down from their roles, with the Foundation subsequently reorganizing remaining staff into five functional clusters. Departing researchers and strategists, along with investor commentary, attributed the wave of exits to disagreements over sub-strategies rather than loss of confidence in the network itself.
The network's technical roadmap targets scaling improvements with a gas limit beyond 100 million per block by 2026, alongside protocol enhancements and user experience upgrades. ETH traded at $1,920 on the anniversary date, down 61% from its August 2025 peak, reflecting broader market pressure on the token despite continued development activity and institutional interest.