Fusaka upgrade: What it means for web3 builders

Ethereum is set for another important milestone this November with the Fusaka upgrade. Unlike the headline-grabbing upgrades that radically change consensus or gas fees, Fusaka is all about stability, resilience, and developer confidence.

It’s the type of update that strengthens the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) ecosystem while maintaining compatibility for builders. For web3 developers, Fusaka offers a subtle but powerful improvement that unlocks better authentication and user flows across the blockchain ecosystem.

And the best part? Sequence is already ahead of the curve, building the tools and infrastructure that prepare developers for Fusaka’s impact today.

What is the Fusaka upgrade, and why does it matter?

The Fusaka upgrade consolidates a set of Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) and protocol changes, focusing on performance, compatibility, and enhanced user experience, particularly across Layer 1 and its interactions with Layer 2 rollups. Here are the key features and implications:

1. PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling). Defined in EIP-7594, PeerDAS lets nodes verify whether data is available without downloading everything. That reduces the burden on full nodes and validators, making running nodes less resource-intensive.
2. Higher blob target / Limit for L2 rollups. The upgrade proposes raising the blob size or blob target/limit (from what was introduced under Dencun and Pectra) to much higher levels (e.g. 48/72). This means rollups can submit larger data blobs, improving throughput, lowering costs per transaction, and making L2 solutions more efficient.
3. EVM Object Format (EOF). EOF aims to modernize how smart contracts are represented: separating code from data, versioning smart contract formats, adding new instructions to the EVM bytecode, and improving verifiability and security. For developers building smart contracts or high-throughput chain abstractions, these changes can reduce deployment costs and/or make analysis and auditing easier.
4. Deferred features from Pectra. Some EIPs originally planned for the Pectra upgrade are being carried over into Fusaka. These include EIP-7549 for rollup scalability, EIP-3670 for code validation, EIP-4750 for other functional enhancements, among possibly more than a dozen deferred changes
5. Focus on scalability, decentralization, security. Fusaka is designed to scale Ethereum’s data capacity while retaining decentralization. The improvements are all intended to support better DeFi performance, richer NFT and marketplace ecosystems, faster web3 gaming interactions, and gas-efficient operations.

One of the EIPs that stands out for developers is EIP-7951. This proposal adds a native secp256r1 precompile on the Ethereum mainnet.

Why is this significant? secp256r1 is the cryptographic curve behind modern passkeys and WebAuthn standards, which power Apple Secure Enclave, Android Keystore, and FIDO2 authentication.

In practice, this means Ethereum smart contracts will be able to verify passkey signatures directly on Layer 1. No workarounds, no hacks, and no added friction.

This is a game-changer for:

• Web3 wallets: Enabling passwordless, hardware-backed authentication that users already know and trust.
• Web3 platforms and apps: Offering stronger security and UX without requiring app rewrites.
• Cross-chain and multi-chain ecosystems: Aligning Ethereum mainnet with EVM chains like Optimism, Base, Arbitrum, and Polygon that already support this via RIP-7212.

In short, Fusaka isn’t flashy, it’s invisible by design. But this kind of predictable, backward-compatible upgrade is what makes Ethereum’s web3 stack mature and reliable for the long term.

Sequence’s stack is aligned to and ready for the Fusaka upgrade

Sequence has been proactively aligning with these changes, integrating features that both leverage what Fusaka will enable and prepare developers to adopt them smoothly when Fusaka goes live. Here’s how Sequence is doing that in practice:

1. Passkey / WebAuthn-style Authentication support. Sequence Ecosystem Wallets already provide passkey authentication today via merkleized wallet configurations. Once Fusaka rolls out with native secp256r1 precompiles (EIP-7951), Sequence will seamlessly enable native support, with no rewrite of existing apps necessary. This means web3 wallets, marketplaces, and web3 games can offer hardware-backed and passwordless authentication that users already understand and trust.
2. Developer-friendly smart contract and wallet stack. Sequence is designed to abstract away many of the complexities web3 developers face: supporting smart contracts across EVM chains, facilitating gasless transactions, and enabling multi-chain or cross-chain patterns. These are directly complementary to Fusaka’s goals around better data availability and improved contract formats.
3. Future-proofing UX and security. By investing early in hardware-backed auth, passkeys, secure enclave compatibility, Sequence is helping applications and wallets avoid compatibility debt i.e. the trouble that comes when standards shift and apps need to rewrite flows. Sequence is putting in place infrastructure so that when EOF, PeerDAS, and the new data limits are live, wallets and developers are ready.
4. Supporting the full web3 ecosystem. Sequence’s tools are relevant for everything from NFT marketplaces to web3 gaming platforms, DeFi stacks, stablecoin integrations, onchain payments, and crypto checkout flows. Because Fusaka often aims at plumbing work (data availability, EVM improvements) rather than flashy feature toggles, Sequence’s improvements are meant to be “invisible” to end users, while offering developers stronger foundations.

How to prepare for the upcoming Fusaka upgrade

1. Try passkeys now with Sequence. Use Sequence wallets to start testing passkey / WebAuthn authentication. When Fusaka adds native support (EIP-7951), your app will be ready without rewrites.
2. Build for scalability. Expect cheaper, faster rollups after Fusaka. Optimize your apps so they can take advantage of bigger data capacity and lower gas costs.
3. Get smart contracts Fusaka-ready. Start exploring the new EOF so your contracts are easier to audit and upgrade when Fusaka goes live.
4. Adopt multi-chain and gasless flows with Sequence. Sequence already supports multi-chain, gasless transactions and wallet abstractions, making it easier for your app to benefit from Fusaka’s improvements right away.