Ethereum's 2029 'Gigagas' Plan Aims to Outpace Solana in Speed and Scalability
Ethereum has revealed a long-term roadmap to transform its network into a high-speed 'Gigagas' system by 2029. The plan focuses on reducing transaction delays and boosting performance amid growing competition from Solana. Over the past year, Solana's 'solana price' has consistently surpassed Ethereum's, handling high volumes at much lower costs.
Ethereum's new 'Strawmap' outlines upgrades to slash latency and improve efficiency. A key target is reducing slot times from 12 seconds down to just 2 seconds. The network also plans to shrink validator committees, speeding up block confirmation and finality to as little as 8–16 seconds. Additional improvements include quantum-resistant signatures and a peer-to-peer system upgrade using erasure coding for faster block propagation.
Meanwhile, Solana has maintained a clear lead in scalability over the last 12 months. Its base-layer design supports up to 1 million transactions per second in tests, avoiding the bottlenecks Ethereum faces. While Ethereum's mainnet struggles with congestion—pushing activity onto Layer-2 solutions—Solana handles high-frequency trading, such as meme coin volatility, at near-zero fees. In January 2026, Solana even processed more decentralised exchange (DEX) volume than Ethereum.
Market trends highlight the divide: Solana thrives as a low-cost hub for retail-driven assets, whereas Ethereum remains dominant in Stablecoin transfers but with slower base-layer speeds. Despite Ethereum's recent uptick in development 'my activity', price volatility suggests investor confidence remains uncertain.
Ethereum's upgrades aim to close the gap with Solana by 2029, focusing on faster finality and reduced delays. If successful, the changes could strengthen its position against competitors. For now, Solana continues to lead in transaction throughput and cost efficiency, particularly for high-volume trading and decentralised applications.
