Ethereum Institutional has backed EIP-8198, a proposal known as Quick Slots that would cut Ethereum's block time from 12 seconds to 10 seconds as part of the Hegotá upgrade. The nonprofit argues faster blocks matter as more institutional activity moves onchain, and Ethlabs says feedback from ecosystem participants shows broad support. The reduction is not yet confirmed and would follow the Glamsterdam upgrade.
Ethereum Institutional threw its support behind Ethlabs' work on EIP-8198, arguing that Ethereum needs to become faster as more financial activity moves onto public blockchains. According to Ethereum Institutional: "Make Ethereum faster", the nonprofit wrote on X, pointing to growing institutional activity onchain.
Quick Slots targets Ethereum's 12-second interval
EIP-8198 would make Ethereum's slot duration configurable, letting developers shorten the interval between blocks gradually rather than all at once. Ethlabs is initially pushing for a move from 12 seconds to 10 seconds, with further cuts possible once developers assess network performance. The proposal was authored in March and formally proposed for Hegotá during a core developer meeting on Aug. 6.
Support follows feedback Ethlabs gathered from 20 decentralized finance founders, which the group said showed broad support for Quick Slots. Feedback from roughly 20 ecosystem participants, including Lido and Ondo, reportedly raised no significant concerns about decentralization or validator participation. Quick Slots has not been confirmed for Hegotá and remains under consideration alongside other proposals for the upgrade.
Faster settlement is the institutional pitch
Ethereum Institutional co-founder Matthew Dawson argued that improvements in block speed enhance Ethereum's appeal to institutional actors, framing the support in financial terms. The organization has said Ethereum hosts around $180 billion in stablecoins on mainnet, representing roughly 60% of total stablecoin supply, along with around two thirds of tokenized real world assets. Cutting block time to 10 seconds would narrow the price-movement risk window market makers face by roughly 17% on a typical decentralized exchange trade, which could translate into tighter spreads.
Rival networks are already cutting block times
Ethereum's debate comes as other networks pursue similar changes. Solana reduced its target slot time from 300 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds on Sept. 18, a nearly 17% reduction that forms the third stage of a staged rollout toward an eventual 200-millisecond target. A majority of ZEC holders this week backed reducing the network's target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds as part of discussions around its NU7 upgrade.
Hegotá would follow Glamsterdam, the upgrade Ethereum developers are currently focused on, which is set to activate on the Sepolia testnet on Oct. 6. Developers have not confirmed a mainnet activation date for Glamsterdam, leaving EIP-8198 subject to further testing before any shorter slot time reaches Ethereum's mainnet.
Sources: crypto.news, Crypto Briefing
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