Non-profit Ethereum Institutional backs Ethlabs' proposal for faster block times on network
A non-profit organization has thrown its weight behind efforts to accelerate Ethereum block times, pointing to growing institutional adoption of the smart-contract platform.
In a move to address mounting competition from rival networks, Ethereum Institutional has voiced its backing for Ethlabs' proposal aimed at decreasing block times and enhancing the speed of the Ethereum network.
The non-profit organization posted on X this past Friday with a simple message: "Make Ethereum faster." The organization emphasized that faster block times have become necessary given that "more institutional activity moves onchain."
A day earlier, on Thursday, Ethlabs released a comprehensive article featuring statements from 20 founders in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, demonstrating widespread backing for EIP-8198. This proposal, which goes by the name "Quick Slots," aims to initially bring down Ethereum block times from the current 12 seconds to 10 seconds.
The push for faster block times isn't exclusive to Ethereum. Other blockchain platforms are pursuing comparable initiatives to reduce their block times. Earlier this week on Monday, Zcash token holders voted in favor of slashing the network's target block time from 75 seconds down to 25 seconds, representing a significant majority.
Meanwhile, Solana made its own adjustments in August, trimming its slot time from 400 milliseconds down to 350ms. Prior to that in June, the Solana Foundation had unveiled ambitious plans to further reduce slot times from 400ms all the way down to 200ms. The foundation justified this move by explaining it would enhance latency performance and speed up confirmations across the blockchain network.
The EIP-8198 proposal was originally authored back in March and received formal consideration for inclusion in the upcoming Hegotá upgrade during the Ethereum core developers meeting held on Aug. 6. According to Ethlabs, the team is currently in the process of merging the proposal's technical specifications with the main codebase while also examining potential downstream dependencies. These efforts aim to help the proposal "meaningfully enter Hegotá's scope."
The implementation of Hegotá by Ethereum developers is anticipated to commence in late 2026, coming after Glamsterdam. The latter represents one of the year's most significant upgrades, with its primary focus being enhanced scalability and strengthening the security of the mainnet.