As Institutional ETH Demand Grows, Ethereum’s P2P Layer Shows Signs of Improvement.

Ethereum P2P Networking Progress Aligns with Rising Institutional ETH Demand

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin says early results from PeerDAS show the Ethereum Foundation can now deliver complex peer-to-peer (P2P) networking upgrades at scale.

In an X post Monday, Buterin acknowledged that the Foundation historically lacked deep P2P expertise, focusing instead on crypto economics, byzantine fault-tolerant consensus, and block-layer research while taking the network layer for granted. “The sentiment has changed,” he added, crediting Raúl Jordan and others for successfully running the system.

PeerDAS, a prototype for Data Availability Sampling (DAS), is crucial for Ethereum’s sharding roadmap. It enables light clients to verify shard data by sampling small portions, improving scalability while maintaining decentralization and security.

Buterin also noted the need for a functional on-chain gas futures market. Prediction markets on BASEFEE, he argued, could give users better visibility into future gas costs and help teams hedge congestion risk over the long term.

The announcements come amid renewed institutional ETH accumulation. BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest corporate holder of Ethereum, purchased 138,452 ETH last week—around $435 million—bringing its treasury to 3.86 million ETH. Chairman Thomas Lee cited the Fusaka upgrade and expectations of easing macro conditions as drivers for accelerated buying.

BitMine frames its purchases as a strategic bet on Ethereum’s execution layer and scaling roadmap rather than short-term positioning. How this institutional demand intersects with Buterin’s networking push could influence sentiment around Ethereum’s next phase of scaling, especially as debates over future blockspace costs continue.