Ethereum Institutional backs EIP-8198 to cut block times to 10 seconds
In brief
- Ethereum Institutional backed EIP-8198 to reduce block times from 12 to 10 seconds
- EIP-8198 (Quick Slots) proposed for Hegotá upgrade at August 6 core developers meeting
- 20 DeFi founders publicly support faster block time proposal
Growing momentum for faster blocks
Ethlabs published an article quoting 20 decentralized finance founders showing broad support for EIP-8198. The proposal was authored in March and was proposed for inclusion in the Hegotá upgrade at the Ethereum core developers meeting on August 6.
Ethereum Institutional's backing underscores the shift toward faster settlement times. The non-profit argued that reducing block times is needed as more institutional activity moves onchain. Faster blocks can improve user experience and throughput without requiring major architectural changes.
Technical progress and timeline
Ethlabs said it was merging the proposal's specifications with the main codebase and investigating potential downstream dependencies. Ethereum developers could begin implementing Hegotá in late 2026 following Glamsterdam.
The push for faster blocks isn't unique to Ethereum. In August, Solana reduced its slot time from 400 milliseconds to 350ms. On Monday, the majority of Zcash token holders backed cutting the network's target block time to 25 seconds, down from 75 seconds. Block time optimization is becoming a competitive priority across multiple chains.
