Ethereum’s upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade clears rehearsal for a big jump in capacity
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Summary
Ethereum's Glamsterdam upgrade passed a key rehearsal on the Sepolia test network ahead of a proposed October 6 deployment. Nethermind's execution software completed all 2,302 performance tests, demonstrating new block-building rules including block-level access lists that enable parallel transaction processing. The upgrade raised the testnet's block gas limit from 60 million to 200 million, aiming to increase network capacity and reduce fee spikes.
Why it matters
The increase in block gas limit could allow Ethereum to handle more transactions per block, potentially lessening fee surges during periods of high demand. Glamsterdam’s new rules aim to support larger blocks without making running nodes prohibitively expensive, improving network scalability. The upgrade also incorporates the block-building and payment handoff inside Ethereum’s protocol, reducing reliance on external relay services.
Key context
Currently, Ethereum processes many transactions sequentially, limiting block capacity. Glamsterdam targets this by giving computers prior notice of accounts and data a block will use, enabling parallel processing. The upgrade also extends the block data propagation time from about two seconds to nine seconds, allowing validators more time to check bigger blocks.
Key numbers and entities
The upgrade tested a block gas limit increase from 60 million to 200 million. Nethermind’s execution software processed 570.7 billion gas in 3 minutes and 15 seconds, averaging about 2.9 billion gas per second during testing. The planned rollout date on the Sepolia testnet is October 6.
What remains unclear
It is not established when or if the 200 million gas limit will be adopted on Ethereum’s main network, as the higher limit currently remains a test setting. The source does not specify potential risks or timelines for a mainnet upgrade following this testnet deployment.