Glamsterdam hits final devnets; Ethereum targets 200M gas

Ethereum core developers moved the Glamsterdam upgrade into final multi-client development testnets on June 16. The release bundles planned execution- and consensus-layer changes and targets a gas limit of 200 million per block before a possible mainnet activation in the second half of 2026. The work is running across multiple client implementations to surface compatibility issues before public testnets.

At the center of the upgrade is EIP-7732, which enshrines Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) in the protocol. ePBS shifts responsibilities for assembling and proposing blocks into the protocol itself and reduces dependence on off-chain relays. Under ePBS, validators receive guaranteed payment for proposed blocks even when a separate builder assembles them, which developers say will limit concentrated advantages held by sophisticated builders.

Glamsterdam also includes EIP-7928, which introduces Block-Level Access Lists. Each block can declare in advance the accounts and contract storage locations it will touch, allowing client software to preload that data and process transactions in parallel. Developers expect that preloading will make block execution faster and more predictable for node operators.

The upgrade contains a wide gas repricing alongside a large increase in block capacity. The gas limit is planned to rise from roughly 60 million to 200 million per block, and throughput targets approach 10,000 transactions per second. High-level compute operations are expected to become less costly while raw state access will be repriced higher. Supporters of the new schedule project a 78.6% reduction in fees for simple transfers and complex smart contract calls when measured against the existing gas schedule. The repricing is also intended to help prepare the network for zero-knowledge proving systems that could verify blocks more quickly.

Developers note that cheaper, more abundant block space tends to lower costs for Layer 2 rollups that post data on Ethereum. The Fusaka upgrade in December expanded data capacity for rollups; Glamsterdam’s changes aim to continue reducing costs for L2 settlements.

The devnet phase is intended to harden the codebase before the upgrade moves to public testnets. No firm mainnet activation date has been set; the testnet cycle will determine the final schedule. Developers have already named the next upgrade after Glamsterdam as Hegota, reflecting the ongoing roadmap.

Parithosh Jayanthi, a core developer at the Ethereum Foundation, described the release as “Probably the largest fork we’ve had since the Merge,” and added that it “could change a lot of assumptions about Ethereum and set us up for much more scaling.”