Increase Transaction and Block Memory Units (Part 1 of 2)
6 of 7 committee members voted
- Ace Alliance71aa5b3a…8f04YesActive · term ends epoch 726Rationale
Ace Alliance finds the Parameter Update Governance Action “Increase Transaction and Block Memory Units (Part 1 of 2)” Constitutional.
A PDF version of this rationale is also made available.
The proposed increase to maxTxExecutionUnits[memory] and maxBlockExecutionUnits[memory] is a strategic enhancement designed to advance the Cardano Blockchain’s mission of providing foundational infrastructure for decentralized systems. By raising the per-transaction limit from 14,000,000 to 16,500,000 units and the per-block limit to 72,000,000 units, this action directly addresses community feedback regarding resource constraints that currently hinder DApp development. These changes align with Tenet 3 of the Cardano Constitution, ensuring that developers are not "unreasonably prevented" from deploying sophisticated applications. This 17.9% increase in transaction headroom provides the immediate flexibility required for more complex smart contracts while maintaining the long-term sustainability and viability of the ecosystem. The increase in the memory units per transaction and per block adheres to all relevant guardrails from MTEU-M-01 to MTEU-M-03 and MBEU-M-01 to MBEU-M-04a.
From a technical perspective, this proposal is rigorously supported by performance data from Node 10.6, ensuring compliance with Article I, Section 2 regarding safeguarding implementation of guardrails. Detailed benchmarking indicates that even with a theoretical 100% increase in the memory budget, block diffusion remains highly predictable and well within the 5-second target for 95% propagation. Specifically, the analysis shows that while allocation rates increase, the impact on critical system resources like Kernel RSS and CPU usage is negligible. This empirical evidence satisfies the requirements of MBEU-M-04a, confirming that the change does not endanger the security, functionality, or performance of the Cardano Blockchain.
Furthermore, this governance action adheres to all constitutional process guardrails, including the 90-day notice period specified in PARAM-04a. By grouping the per-transaction and per-block limits into a single action, the proposal follows the correlation guidelines in NETWORK-02, ensuring a streamlined and transparent update process. This update represents a responsible, data-driven step toward scaling Cardano’s smart contract throughput, balancing the desire for increased capacity with the foundational need for network stability and decentralization.
For these reasons, we find this Info Action constitutional.
- Cardano Curia84feba94…6bd5YesActive · term ends epoch 799Rationale
Cardano Curia finds this parameter update constitutional under Constitution v2.4.
What is being proposed
This governance action proposes a Protocol Parameter Change (part 1 of a linked two-step plan) to increase Plutus script memory execution limits, and explicitly states that no other protocol parameters or cost model settings will be changed.
The proposed updates are:
maxTxExecutionUnits[memory]: 14,000,000 → 16,500,000 (+2,500,000)maxBlockExecutionUnits[memory]: 62,000,000 → 72,000,000 (+10,000,000)
Constitutional and guardrails consistency (v2.4)
Execution-budget guardrails
The proposed values and deltas are consistent with the applicable Guardrails:
maxTxExecutionUnits[memory]remains below the hard cap (MTEU-M-01), is non-negative (MTEU-M-02), is not decreased (MTEU-M-03), and the increase equals the maximum recommended per-epoch increment (MTEU-M-04).maxBlockExecutionUnits[memory]remains below the hard cap (MBEU-M-01), is non-negative (MBEU-M-02), and the change equals the maximum recommended per-epoch increment (MBEU-M-03).- The rationale states that benchmarking/simulation has been performed for the per-block change and that Praos timing guarantees remain intact, directly targeting the mandatory performance requirement in MBEU-M-04a.
- The relationship
maxBlockExecutionUnits[memory] ≥ maxTxExecutionUnits[memory]is preserved (MEU-M-01).
Voting and process guardrails for critical parameters
The rationale explicitly acknowledges that
maxBlockExecutionUnits[memory]is a critical protocol parameter and therefore requires the additional SPO voting threshold alongside DRep approval (PARAM-03a).It also addresses the notice expectation for critical parameter updates (PARAM-04a), stating that the intent to propose the on-chain change was published off-chain on 2025-07-07 and is not being justified as a Severity 1/2 emergency relaxation.
Network-change cadence and correlation
The two parameters changed here are directly correlated and are proposed together in alignment with NETWORK-02. The rationale also asserts that recent linked updates did not violate the cadence restriction for these parameters (NETWORK-01).
Technical scrutiny and evidence (as described in the rationale)
The rationale reports:
- Intersect Parameter Committee recommendation (2025-05-08) and Intersect Technical Steering Committee ratification (2025-10-01).
- Equivalent testnet enactments: Preview (October 2025) and PreProd (November 2025).
- Performance evaluation by IOE’s Performance & Tracing team (node versions 10.2 and 10.3), concluding adequate timing headroom and no breach of Praos timing guarantees.
These points are the appropriate types of evidence for the Constitution’s expectation that parameter updates receive sufficient technical review and do not endanger security, functionality, performance, or long-term sustainability.
Tenets alignment
The stated motivation—reducing developer friction, reducing inefficient transaction-splitting, and enabling more useful work per block while staying within measured safety margins—aligns with the Constitution’s Tenets, particularly:
- enabling developers to deploy applications without unreasonable barriers; and
- avoiding unreasonable waste of resources while evolving the system safely.
Determination
Based on the stated deltas, guardrails mapping, and the described benchmarking and review process, Cardano Curia identifies no clear conflict with Constitution v2.4 and therefore finds the action constitutional.
For the reasons stated above, Cardano Curia finds this governance action constitutional under Constitution v2.4, provided that the submitted governance action includes the required immutable off-chain documentation (URL + hash) and that the key supporting evidence—especially benchmarking relevant to the per-block change—is preserved in a verifiable, preferably immutable form.
- Cardano Japan Council725d4d44…7b31YesExpired · term ends epoch 653Rationale
We consider this governance action to be constitutional.
This proposal is a governance action concerning a protocol parameter change that adjusts the per-transaction and per-block memory execution limits for Plutus scripts. The proposal satisfies the relevant guardrails set forth in the amended Cardano Constitution, including those relating to maximum limits, the magnitude of change, voting requirements, advance notice periods, and verification requirements. No clear conflict with the constitutional principles or provisions has been identified. For these reasons, the proposal is determined to be consistent with the Constitution.
For the reasons stated above, we determine that it is constitutional.
- Eastern Cardano Council2ea7a78e…10ecYesActive · term ends epoch 726Rationale
We have determined that this Parameter Change governance action is constitutional.
Article II, Section 6.3 of the Cardano Constitution states ""Hard Fork Initiation" and "Parameter Update" actions shall undergo sufficient technical review and scrutiny as mandated by the Guardrails to ensure that the governance action does not endanger the security, functionality, performance, or long-term sustainability of the Cardano Blockchain."
The governance action with ID "gov_action1cgd...0m5y83" and title "Increase Transaction and Block Memory Units (Part 1 of 2)", as a Parameter Change governance action, has been "ratified by Intersect's Technical Steering Committee on 2025-10-01" following evaluation of its implications on the "security, functionality, performance, or long-term sustainability of the Cardano Blockchain".
The governance action also complies with the relevant guardrails in the Cardano Constitution.
We therefore find this governance action Constitutional.
As a Parameter Change, this governance action has undergone sufficient technical review and complies with the relevant guardrails in the Cardano Constitution, so is deemed constitutional.
- KtorZ64f97568…3a49YesExpired · term ends epoch 653Rationale
LGTM.
The proposal follows from a long-running discussion and a formal protocol-parameter change to the relevant committee at Intersect made a while back (well beyond 3 months as required by the PARAM-06a guardrail).
Visible efforts have been made towards benchmarking the effect of the change and it has been confirmed to not disrupt the current network status.
It is worth nothing, though, that while the proposal includes a reversion plan; the execution of that plan will likely be unconstitutional since it could prevent the execution of smart contracts and thus, permanently lock funds of Ada holders who would have interacted with impacted scripts.
However, that fact is acknowledged in the proposal and voters are therefore assumed voting with full knowledge.
- Tingvard646d1b3a…be43YesActive · term ends epoch 726Rationale
Tingvard judges this protocol parameter update governance action constitutional.
This governance action is properly framed as a “Protocol Parameter Changes” action and concerns adjustments to critical protocol parameters governing Plutus script memory execution limits. The proposal increases maxTxExecutionUnits[memory] and maxBlockExecutionUnits[memory] in a correlated manner, consistent with the requirements for network and execution-budget parameters under the Constitution.
The action satisfies the procedural and substantive requirements of Article II, § 6. The proposal is presented in a standardized format, includes immutable off-chain metadata with a corresponding hash, and provides a comprehensive technical rationale, benchmarking evidence, and guardrail analysis. The metadata demonstrates that the proposed changes were preceded by extended off-chain discussion, formal consideration by the Intersect Parameter Committee, and subsequent ratification by the Technical Steering Committee, satisfying expectations of transparency and technical scrutiny.
The proposed parameter values remain within all mandatory guardrails set out in the Cardano Blockchain Guardrails Appendix. The increases do not exceed maximum bounds, do not reduce existing limits, and respect the recommended per-epoch change constraints. The proposal explicitly acknowledges the critical nature of the affected parameters and correctly relies on the additional SPO voting threshold required for such changes, in accordance with PARAM-03a.
From a constitutional perspective, the action advances the Tenets set out in Article I. In particular, it promotes Tenet 3 by ensuring that developers are not unreasonably prevented from deploying applications as intended, and Tenet 8 by enabling more efficient use of existing block capacity without wasteful fragmentation or artificial constraints. Real-world development experience has demonstrated that current memory limits force developers to choose between reducing supported functionality or abandoning features that are standard on competing platforms, even after extensive optimization and use of advanced tooling. This update removes such artificial barriers while remaining within safe and benchmarked performance limits.
The proposal also considers potential trade-offs. Increasing memory execution limits marginally raises hardware requirements for block-producing nodes. However, benchmarking confirms that Praos timing guarantees remain intact, and the resulting requirements remain well within the capacity of the vast majority of existing stake pool operators. The Constitution does not require preservation of minimum-spec operation where doing so would unnecessarily impede the evolution and competitiveness of the ecosystem.For these reasons, Tingvard finds this protocol parameter update governance action constitutional. It complies with Article II, § 6, adheres to all applicable Guardrails, respects the Cardano Blockchain Tenets, and represents a measured, evidence-based evolution of the protocol in support of long-term sustainability and developer usability.
- Phil_uplc68bb0b42…8746Not votedActive · term ends epoch 799No rationale