Ethereum Institutional Supports Ethlabs' Proposal to Reduce Ethereum Block Times
Ethereum Institutional has signaled its support for Ethlabs' motion to reduce Ethereum's block times in order to enhance network speed and better compete with other rapidly evolving blockchains. The organization emphasized the need to accelerate the blockchain amid increasing institutional on-chain activity. The EIP-8198 proposal, called "Quick Slots," aims to cut block times from 12 to 10 seconds and has received widespread backing from DeFi founders.
Motion to Reduce Block Times
Ethereum Institutional, a non-profit organization, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday urging to "make Ethereum faster," emphasizing the need to reduce block times in response to increasing institutional on-chain activity.
On Thursday, Ethlabs published an article quoting 20 decentralized finance (DeFi) founders showing broad support for EIP-8198, also known as "Quick Slots," which proposes reducing Ethereum block times from 12 to 10 seconds to accelerate transaction processing.
Comparison with Other Blockchains
Similar efforts are underway in other blockchain networks. On Monday, the majority of Zcash token holders supported cutting the network's target block time from 75 to 25 seconds.
In August, Solana reduced its slot time from 400 to 350 milliseconds, while in June the Solana Foundation shared plans to reduce slot times further down to 200 milliseconds to improve latency and speed up confirmations on its blockchain.
Next Steps for EIP-8198 Implementation
EIP-8198 was authored in March and proposed for inclusion in the Hegotá upgrade during the Ethereum core developers meeting on August 6.
Ethlabs is integrating the proposal’s specifications into Ethereum’s main codebase and investigating potential downstream dependencies to facilitate its meaningful inclusion within Hegotá’s scope.
Ethereum developers could start implementing Hegotá in late 2026 following the Glamsterdam upgrade, which is expected to be one of the year’s most consequential updates aimed at improving scalability and fortifying the mainnet.
Why it matters
This news is significant because reducing block times directly impacts Ethereum’s transaction confirmation speed and overall network performance. Facing growing competition from other blockchains like Solana and Zcash, which are already implementing block time reductions, Ethereum aims to solidify its position and meet the increasing demand from institutional players. The introduction of EIP-8198 prepares the network for the upcoming major Hegotá upgrade, facilitating faster and more efficient operations, which is crucial for the ecosystem’s continued growth and competitiveness in the blockchain space.
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