Key Highlights
- •Ethereum has achieved a new record of 32,950 transactions per second (TPS), significantly driven by Lighter's high-throughput ZK rollup activity.
- •Recent increases in the gas limit have enhanced Layer 1 performance and expanded settlement capacity for Layer 2 networks.
- •Arkham identifies real-world asset (RWA) tokenization as the next major growth catalyst for Decentralized Finance (DeFi), fueled by increasing institutional interest.
Ethereum Ecosystem Surpasses Performance Milestones
The Ethereum ecosystem has achieved another significant performance milestone, reaching 32,950 transactions per second (TPS). This figure surpasses the previous week's record of 31,000 TPS and occurs just 24 hours before the network's anticipated Fusaka upgrade.
ETHEREUM HITS ALL-TIME-HIGH FOR TPS
The maximum observed transactions per second across Ethereum and all Ethereum scaling solutions just hit another ALL TIME HIGH of 32,950 – beating the previous week’s record of 31,000.
This is ahead of the Fusaka upgrade on Wednesday, which… pic.twitter.com/oIieww4R8o
— Arkham (@arkham) December 2, 2025
Lighter Drives Surge in Ethereum Throughput
According to Arkham, the recent surge in TPS is primarily powered by Lighter, an Ethereum-native perpetual exchange operating on a zero-knowledge rollup. Lighter's ZK-powered design has consistently delivered throughput in the thousands, significantly exceeding that of other Layer 2 networks. Base, for instance, typically processes between 100-300 TPS, making it the second-fastest L2. With rollups accounting for the majority of activity, Ethereum continues to advance in its effort to narrow the performance gap with Solana's theoretical 65,000 TPS threshold.
The ecosystem's daily average TPS reached 325 yesterday, an increase from approximately 250 at the beginning of the year. Arkham also notes that future upgrades, such as PeerDAS, are anticipated to further expand data capacity, with some analysts projecting long-term throughput capabilities of 100,000 TPS or more.
Gas Limit Increase Strengthens L1 and L2 Capacity
Arkham also highlights Ethereum's recent gas limit increase, which was raised from 45 million to 60 million. This adjustment, approved by validators, went live on November 25. The increase effectively doubles the network's capacity year-over-year, directly boosting Layer 1 throughput and indirectly improving settlement conditions for Layer 2 networks.
The continued rise in TPS is contributing to lower transaction fees across major rollups, further facilitating everyday cryptocurrency usage. With the Fusaka upgrade scheduled to activate tomorrow, the network enters the week with strong momentum driven by tangible and measurable throughput gains.
RWA Tokenization Emerges as DeFi’s Next Growth Engine
In parallel, Arkham's latest research highlights another accelerating trend within the decentralized finance space: real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. The tokenization of assets such as treasury bills, commodities, and real estate is increasingly reshaping DeFi's market structure. This trend is effectively bridging blockchain technology with traditional financial infrastructure, creating a new avenue for institutional-grade on-chain liquidity.