Ethereum Fusaka Upgrade: Value Capture Enters a New Phase? ——Interpretation of the latest report on Fidelity Digital Assets Neil's introduction
Ethereum will upgrade not only the code this time, but also the "money-making logic".
Fidelity Digital Assets clearly stated in the latest report:
The Fusaka upgrade is one of Ethereum's most "value-oriented" roadmap nodes to date - no longer just a technical ideal, but starting to align head-on with the question of "how can ETH better generate cash flow and capture value?"
This means three things:
- Scaling and profitability of the protocol layer (L1) are brought back to center stage；
- The economic model of Layer 2 may be re-shuffled, with more value flowing back to the main network；
- The governance of Ethereum is moving from "technical pull from multiple parties" to "unification around economic intentions."
Below we break down the core points of the Fidelity report and explain them clearly.
What exactly is the Fusaka upgrade?
Fusaka is a combination of the two upgraded names Fulu and Osaka.
It's not a single change, but an update to:
- Consensus Layer
- Execution Layer
Two simultaneous changes are expected to be implemented in December.
Fidelity Digital Assets stated in a report released on Thursday:
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Fusaka marks the development path of Ethereum from the past “pulling with demands from multiple parties”.
Towards a new stage with more strategic unity and clearer economic logic.
”
In the past, Ethereum upgrades have often had to be balanced among numerous stakeholders:
- Developers want elegant architecture and long-term sustainability
- Users want low cost and good experience
- Validators and stakers want stable returns
- Applications and Layer 2 want flexibility and composability
Fusaka tried to build on this and narrowed the goals more clearly into three points:
- Scalability
- Usability
- Value Accrual of ETH
Fidelity: This is a sign of the “maturity” of Ethereum governance
Fidelity analyst Max Wadington believes that what is special about this upgrade is:
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It is no longer just a technological evolution, but a roadmap convergence around economic intent.
”
Simply put, it is:
- Before: Make technical upgrades first, and then slowly discuss whether ETH can benefit from this.
- Now: Consider it from the start——
“How can this upgrade enhance ETH’s pricing power and cash flow capabilities? ”
While “value capture” is not an official goal, the report states that it has become:
The common incentives among the three parties have begun to be reflected in the design of the protocol layer.
Focus 1: Re-strengthen Layer 1’s expansion and pricing power
The report emphasizes that Fusaka shows Ethereum's renewed emphasis on L1 expansion and economic weight.
What is Layer 1?★
Layer 1: The basic layer of the blockchain, that is, the Ethereum mainnet itself, is the foundation for final settlement and security.
Layer 2: The "second-layer network" built on top of L1, responsible for expansion and processing a large number of transactions (such as rollup).
”
In the past few years, Ethereum’s thinking has been:
★
“Handle most transactions to Layer 2 for processing, and the mainnet is responsible for security and settlement. ”
”
After Fusaka, Fidelity believes Ethereum is doing two things:
- Strengthen the performance and pricing power of L1 so that the mainnet itself can continue to capture more economic activities；
- Through the fee structure and protocol design, more value will be guided back to L1 and ETH itself.
This means:
- ETH is not just a “gas token”;
- It is an asset that increasingly has “cash flow and distribution logic”.
When more activities (settlement, data availability, MEV, L2 fee reflow) are pushed back to the main network,
It will be clearer that ETH serves as the "revenue anchor" of protocol layer assets.
Point 2: Layer 2’s economic model may be reshaped
The Fidelity report pointed out that Fusaka is a “predictive reshaping” of the Layer 2 economic landscape.
In the past few rounds of L2 competition, what we have seen is:
- In order to compete for users, various rollups subsidize each other and lower costs.
- Revenue and value capture often remain within their respective token systems
- The main network plays more of an infrastructure role in “security and settlement”
And the report prompts:
★
As Ethereum strengthens its economic intent at the protocol layer,
L2 may be designed to "return revenue to L1 and ETH" in the future.
”
This may bring about several changes:
- L2 fee structure adjustment to increase contribution to L1 settlement value；
- More L2 uses ETH as core settlement or pledge assets to strengthen the demand for ETH；
- “The L2 model that is only good for its own token and not good for ETH may be marginalized in the ecological narrative.
For ETH holders, this means:
★
The expansion of the Ethereum ecosystem is no longer just about "others making money and ETH working hard".
And it may become "the more prosperous the ecology is, the clearer the ETH cash flow will be."
”
Key Point 3: Enhanced Value Capture ≠ Free Lunch
Fidelity also reminds investors:
The more Ethereum embraces "pricing power and monetization", the more it will have to face several key trade-offs:
Cost vs. Adoption Balance
- Increasing protocol layer revenue may mean that fees cannot be reduced indefinitely
- If the network is too "charge-oriented", it may affect the migration decisions of developers and users.
Protocol Neutrality vs Economic Orientation
- When value capture becomes an explicit goal, will the protocol favor certain types of participants?
- How to avoid sacrificing openness and neutrality “for the sake of making more money”?
Game and collaboration between L1 and L2
- In the next few years, L1 and L2 will definitely experience a round of "economic weight redistribution".”
- Investors need to pay attention to: Which L2 will become the "ETH value amplifier"?
Which ones are just "taking away the economic value of ETH"”
Fusaka: a "declarative" upgrade, not just a technical version number
Fidelity’s summary is:
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Fusaka is more like a declaration that Ethereum has entered the “next phase”.
Rather than a single minor technical revision.
”
The key words at this stage are:
- Focused
- Economically Sustainable
- More emphasis on pricing power (Pricing Power)
- Tighter Aligned Incentives
For ETH investors, this means:
- Need to change from “just looking at the technology roadmap”
- Gradually shift to the perspective of "simultaneously evaluating how the protocol captures cash flow and value"
Little B comments
In the past, Ethereum upgrades were like "developers working on open source projects", but this time it was more like "a board of directors meeting to discuss the profit model" - the idealism is still there, but the calculations are obviously more precise.
Interactive Area｜What do you think of this Fusaka upgrade? 💬
What do you think:
- Is Fusaka a true "value capture turning point", or is it an ordinary upgrade that is over-interpreted by the market?
- Will L2 give up part of its "economic rights" in the future and return more value to ETH?
- Will the proportion of ETH in your own investment portfolio increase as a result?
Welcome to chat about your opinions in the comment area👇
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