ETHGas has successfully secured $12 million in a seed funding round led by Polychain Capital. This announcement follows a recent discussion by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin regarding the potential for an on-chain “gas futures” market. Buterin suggested that such a market could provide users with better insights into expected gas fees, enabling them to hedge against future costs.
The underlying premise of ETHGas is to “reimagine the way blockspace is allocated” within the Ethereum network. The platform launched with an impressive $800 million in commitments from various participants, including validators and builders, aiming to create a more efficient marketplace for Ethereum”s blockspace.
Alongside its trading features, ETHGas is also working to significantly improve Ethereum”s transaction speed through an initiative dubbed “Real-Time Ethereum.” This system allows for the purchase of blockspace commitments, referred to as “pre-confirmations,” enabling users to secure transaction execution at specific times. According to founder Kevin Lepsoe, this approach is designed to operate above existing block production services, which are typically utilized by maximum extractable value (MEV) bots.
Lepsoe explained that the Real-Time Ethereum framework divides blocks into “240 pieces of 50 milliseconds each,” thereby achieving near-instant transaction confirmations. He noted that this configuration minimizes MEV issues while enhancing the overall speed of the Ethereum network. While the technology promises substantial improvements, Lepsoe acknowledged the existence of “some centralizing vectors” within the system.
ETHGas claims that its innovation could potentially increase validator rewards by up to eight or ten times if the entire Ethereum network is transitioned to real-time operations. This shift could incentivize further centralization, a concern that Lepsoe admits is already prevalent in the ecosystem, with various block builders and relays processing a significant portion of Ethereum”s blocks.
To address these centralization risks, ETHGas plans to establish multiple nodes utilizing a leader-election process, although Lepsoe highlighted that this endeavor would require considerable effort and community involvement.
ETHGas asserts that its system can handle over 10,000 transactions per second, offering user-defined options for block placement. Pre-confirmations can be structured to allow users to reserve entire blocks or guarantee inclusion at specific positions within a block. However, capacity remains a constraint until more validators join the network.
Execution guarantees are another feature being tested, albeit not for broad deployment until 2026. These guarantees ensure not only inclusion in a block but also a predetermined price or position for transactions. Validators have been responsible for confirming these pre-confirmations, with a reported success rate of 99.96% to date, although this figure has not been independently verified.
In summary, the launch of ETHGas marks a significant step towards innovating Ethereum”s transaction capabilities while addressing the challenges associated with gas fees and blockspace allocation.
