Ethereum Scalability Upgrade on the Way
CryptoBit News Today2 min read
Devnet-11 was created to serve as a structured trial run that excluded intentional attacks.
Engineers plan to deploy Glamsterdam on Sepolia on Oct. 6, allowing application teams to evaluate their programs ahead of the main Ethereum rollout. The upgrade is set to go live on the Sepolia network at epoch 353,024 and slot 11,296,768, corresponding to Oct. 6, 2026, at 13:53:36 UTC. The announcement applies strictly to Sepolia, with a future notice planned for Glamsterdam's launch on the mainnet. Before October 6, 2026 at 13:53:36 UTC, developers must ensure that both their execution and consensus layer clients are updated to releases that support the scheduled Sepolia activation.
Nethermind, software used by computers running Ethereum, conducted a performance test on Wednesday focusing on one of Glamsterdam’s major changes. During the evaluation, the Nethermind client finished every one of the 2,302 tests, handling 570.7 billion gas across three minutes and 15 seconds for a mean rate of roughly 2.9 billion gas each second. This test specifically measured the execution software of Nethermind, rather than the overall speed of the Ethereum network. It assessed block-level access lists, which inform Ethereum computers about the accounts and stored data a block will use before processing begins.
Prysm 7.2.0 and Teku 26.9.1 both support the Sepolia fork, but default to a 60M gas limit after activation. Validators aiming to propose with a 200M gas limit will need to configure this setting explicitly using --validators-builder-registration-default-gas-limit=200000000. Consequently, the 200 million threshold serves only as an experimental parameter and not an obligation for the Ethereum mainnet.
Glamsterdam, following the Fusaka upgrade, advances Ethereum's L1 scaling roadmap. Primary features include enshrined proposer-builder separation and block-level access lists, altering block creation and verification to boost layer-1 processing capacity. While EIP-7732 integrates the division of block builders and proposers directly into Ethereum's consensus framework, EIP-7928 mandates block-level access lists that track accessed accounts, storage spots, and subsequent state modifications.
Combined, ePBS and BALs establish the groundwork to expand execution throughput without making block verification unmanageable for node operators. Glamsterdam aims to gain that extra capacity without making running an Ethereum node prohibitively expensive. It places the handoff of blocks and accompanying payments inside Ethereum’s own rules, reducing dependence on outside relay services, giving validators more time to receive and check larger blocks.
The upgrade also includes EIP-8037, which increases and separately meters the cost of creating state, and EIP-8038, which updates state-access costs. Glamsterdam additionally features logs for ETH transfers, an opcode for slot numbers, an expanded maximum contract size, a deterministic factory contract, and new instructions for stack manipulation. EIP-7773 monitors the Glamsterdam upgrade, and the Ethereum Bug Bounty Program covers its EIPs and specifications.
For a successful deployment, operators must only use a client release that explicitly confirms support for the scheduled Glamsterdam activation on Sepolia. Anyone operating a validator must upgrade both their Validator Client and Consensus Layer Beacon Node.
