Ethereum’s $3 billion blockspace bet hinges on who gets to produce the next block

Institutions that restrict Ethereum transactions to approved block producers would face a four-minute average wait for an eligible slot if those operators held 5% of the network’s proposer-selection weight, according to an Oct. 27 case study published by Delphi Digital. The model identifies a constraint for ETHGas’s opt-in institutional service, which reserves Ethereum blockspace through operators meeting customer requirements: buying capacity does not let a bank choose who produces the next block. Ether.fi’s April commitment of ETH, then valued at $3 billion , offers potential supply, but the service’s availability depends on how much active stake meets each institution’s requirements.