---
eip: 3756
title: Gas Limit Cap
description: Set an in-protocol cap for the gas limit
author: lightclient (@lightclient)
discussions-to: https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/eip-3756-gas-limit-cap/6921
status: Stagnant
type: Standards Track
category: Core
created: 2021-08-21
---

## Abstract

Set an in-protocol cap for the gas limit of 30,000,000.

## Motivation

A high gas limit increases pressure on the network. In the benign case, it
increases the size of the state and history faster than we can sustain. In the
malicious case, it amplifies the devastation of certain denial-of-service
attacks.

## Specification

As of the fork block `N`, consider blocks with a `gas_limit` greater than
`30,000,000` invalid.

## Rationale

### Why Cap the Gas Limit

The gas limit is currently under the control of block proposers. They have the
ability to increase the gas limit to whatever value they desire. This allows
them to bypass the EIP and All Core Devs processes in protocol decisions that
may negatively affect the security and/or decentralization of the network.

### No Fixed Gas Limit

A valuable property of proposers choosing the gas limit is they can scale it
down quickly if the network becomes unstable or is undergoing certain types of
attacks. For this reason, we maintain their ability to lower the gas limit
_below_ 30,000,000.

## Backwards Compatibility
No backwards compatibility issues.

## Test Cases
TBD

## Security Considerations
No security considerations.

## Copyright
Copyright and related rights waived via [CC0](../LICENSE.md).