Cardano to Increase Its Network Block Size By 11%. Here’s Why This Is Important

Input Output Global (IOG), the software firm behind the development of Cardano (ADA), has announced that it’s on the verge of increasing the network’s block size by 11%, in a bid to boost the scalability of the blockchain.

The optimization is expected to increase the block size from the current size of 72KB to 80KB, which is approximately an 11% increase.

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This implies that Cardano blockchain will gain more capacity to facilitate the increasing transactions as the network expects more projects to launch on the mainnet in the coming days and months.

It can be recalled that the blockchain load surged above 90% in January, which was attributed to the launch of the decentralized exchange (DEX) SundaeSwap. The experience then called for an urgent need for the network’s boost in scalability.

According to the data provided by Cardano Blockchain Insights, as of 1st February, nearly all blocks were full, with the average load remaining above 85%.

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IOG team highlighted the importance of the optimization in a series of tweets as shared below:

“NETWORK UPDATE: Today, we have proposed the next parameter update as we continue to increase Cardano network capacity in line with the plan. The proposal will increase block size by a further 8KB taking it from 72KB to 80KB.

“This latest adjustment represents an increase of c. 11%. In addition, an update proposal has also today been triggered to increase Plutus script memory units per transaction on the Cardano mainnet from the current 12.5M to 14M – an increase of 1.5M.

“The increases to block size and memory units will both take effect at the boundary of epoch 319 on 4 Feb at 21:44:51 UTC and are in line with our announced plan to scale and optimize Cardano network throughput.

“Together, these enhancements will provide additional resources for Plutus scripts to improve DApp user experience while increasing overall network capacity.

“This adjustment forms part of a planned series of network optimizations. Cardano will continue to be steadily optimized in a series of measured steps this year, carefully & methodically scaling Cardano for future growth as demand increases.”

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Cardano Adds Over 100 Smart Contracts in Just Two Days

As a report has it, between 30th January and 1st February, the number of smart contracts on the Cardano network increased by 116, bringing the total number on the network to 1,127 as of 1st February.

As shown on the chart above, it’s important to note that the number of smart contracts on Plutus climbed steadily, until they reached the 1,000 mark, after which it recorded its largest rise ever.

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