The program is hosted on Sherlock, a Web3 security platform, and is sponsored by Gnosis and Lido. It will run from September 15th to October 13th. To promote early participation, rewards carry twice in the first week, two times in the second, and two and a half times in a multiplier.
Sherlock has previously managed a large Ethereum audit contest, including a review of the 2024 Pectra Bytecode changes. This initiative reflects the broader driving force for combining community-driven audits with standing bounties for pre-mainnet assurances.
Ethereum Fusaka Upgrade: What does Fusaka bring?
Valid bug reports will be collected and compiled into official reports. Outside the contest window, Ethereum’s bug bounty program is still active, offering up to $250,000 due to the wider protocol vulnerability.
Fusaka bundles around dozens of Ethereum improvement proposals aimed at improving security, throughput and efficiency. The heading function is availability sampling of peer data. This technique broadens the blob data checks across multiple nodes, increases the capacity of the rollup and relieves network pressure.
Fusaka is the next major upgrade of post-Pectra Ethereum, which is expected to unfold in late 2025 or perhaps 2026. The name combines the city of Osaka, the star of the Casiopeia constellation. Fusaka’s goal is to further boost Ethereum into scalability, efficiency and overall performance, directly improving it to Layer 1 blockchain.
Key features of the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade
Peerdas (Peer Data Availability Sampling)
At the heart of Fusaka is Peerdas, introduced in EIP 7594. This new network protocol allows nodes to ensure that data is available without downloading it completely. Peerdas will raise the BLOB data target to 48/72, proposed from 3/6 of Dencun Upgrade. Because blobs are important for layer 2 rollups, this change increases throughput, reduces transaction costs, and makes rollups more efficient.
EVM object format (EOF)
Fusaka is also expected to improve Ethereum Virtual Machine in the EVM object format. EOF separates the code from the data, adds versioning, and introduces new instructions. The results are easy to verify, secure, and more efficient ByteCode, providing a more powerful tool for developers to build smart contracts.
Deferred Pectra Features
Several Ethereum improvement proposals originally intended for Pectra will be folded into Fusaka instead. These include EIP 7549 for rollup scalability, EIP 3670 for more stringent code verification, and EIP 4750 for functional improvements, and a set of proposed code changes.
Focus on scalability and decentralization
Upgrades continue Ethereum’s willingness to expand capacity while keeping the network decentralized and secure. Peerdas reduces the distortion of the validators, and EOF closes the execution of the contract. Together, they will help prepare Ethereum for increased defi traffic and new distributed applications.
Development Timeline
Vitalik Buterin suggests that Fusaka should follow Pectra closely. Ideally, the testnet will be prepared the day after the release is planned for April 8, 2025. Still, given the technical scope, many developers believe 2026 is more realistic. Some people, including the Geth team, have warned that pushing too quickly can be dangerous, and even suggest that they exclude features like EOF if delays are inevitable.
Ethereum Fusaka Upgrade: What does Fusaka mean?
- For users and developers: Cheaper and faster roll-up transactions strengthen Ethereum’s position in distributed finance and make applications more affordable.
- For validators: By reducing the amount of data registers, Peerdas is more likely to participate in network protection and supports decentralization.
- For the market: If Fusaka fulfills its promise, it could drive greater adoption and possibly affect ETH demand. The exact price impact is uncertain, but the upgrades demonstrate Ethereum’s strong commitment to long-term growth.
Timeline and notes
This upgrade will be eligible for the second half of 2025. However, Tomasz Stańczak, executive director of Foundation Co, notes that the timeline can slip if coordination between teams is not enhanced.