Technologie & IA
Ethereum EIP-7954 proposes a 64-KiB maximum contract-code size
The Last Call deadline is November 1. The proposal would also raise the initialization-code limit to 128 KiB, but a network upgrade would be needed before those deployments become possible.
Ethan BrooksEditorial pen name
Two size limits under review
EIP-7954 reaches the Last Call deadline displayed in its official document on November 1, 2026. Created on June 9, 2025, by Giulio Rebuffo and Ben Adams, the Ethereum proposal still shows Last Call when checked. It would increase limits for code retained after contract deployment and for code used during initialization. This milestone establishes neither final adoption nor additional capacity already available on mainnet.
The first ceiling would rise from 24,576 to 65,536 bytes, or 24 to 64 kibibytes. The second would increase from 49,152 to 131,072 bytes, or 48 to 128 kibibytes. These figures describe code size, not assets managed or user counts. Binary units matter: the document provides exact byte thresholds for software implementations.
Deployed code and initialization serve different roles
Deployed code remains on the network for later contract calls. Initialization code runs during creation and can prepare the contract before returning its final code. EIP-170 historically constrains the resulting code’s size. EIP-3860 added an initialization-code limit and a charge measuring part of its processing work. Those mechanisms explain why the proposal addresses separate ceilings.
The stated goal is more room for complex contracts. The authors argue that 24 KiB can constrain some applications and that 64 KiB would allow richer programs within the proposed envelope. This does not guarantee that a particular application becomes simpler, cheaper, or safer. Raising size limits does not replace other execution, storage, and gas constraints on deployment.
Additional room still involves resource costs
The ceilings are not merely interface preferences. Reading and processing larger code demands work from network clients. EIP-170 already explained the relationship between code size, node workload, and proof verification. EIP-7954 acknowledges a marginal increase in denial-of-service risk through large contracts while describing its new limit as conservative. That assessment is not proof that risk disappears.
Already-deployed contracts would not be modified by the limit change. Deploying code between 24 and 64 KiB, however, would require activation through a network upgrade because consensus rules change. Developers can follow the review and exact parameters now. November 1 is neither permission to deploy a larger contract today nor a promise that the entire network becomes faster.