Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade puts Layer 1 scaling back in focus

Ethereum core developers have moved the Glamsterdam upgrade into its final development stage, with private devnets now testing the full set of planned Ethereum Improvement Proposals.

Summary

• Ethereum developers are testing Glamsterdam devnets with all planned EIPs before public testnet deployment starts.
• The upgrade centers on ePBS and Block-Level Access Lists to improve Layer 1 scaling capacity.
• Glamsterdam also changes gas pricing, making compute cheaper while state storage costs rise for developers.

CoinDesk reported that teams are running developer networks that include all EIPs expected for the fork. The work comes before code hardening, public testnet deployment, and a later mainnet date that has not yet been fixed.

The current phase lets client teams test how Glamsterdam behaves across the full upgrade package before wider testnets go live. Ethereum Foundation developer Parithosh Jayanthi said teams are working on devnets with “all the EIPs in them right now.”

Jayanthi also said there is “no fixed timeline,” but developers have made “massive progress.” The upgrade is still expected in the second half of 2026, though final timing depends on testnet results and client readiness.

Glamsterdam upgrade centers on ePBS and access lists

Glamsterdam’s main proposals are Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation, known as ePBS, and Block-Level Access Lists. ePBS, listed as EIP-7732, moves the split between block builders and block proposers into Ethereum’s core protocol.

That change aims to reduce trust in off-chain relays and make block building more transparent. It also targets risks tied to maximal extractable value, where transaction ordering can create unfair trading outcomes for users.

Block-Level Access Lists, listed as EIP-7928, let each block show in advance which accounts and smart-contract data it will use. This gives clients a clearer map before execution begins.

The goal is to make block processing faster and easier to optimize. Ethereum.org says BALs can help nodes pre-load data and process transactions in parallel when they do not touch the same state.

Gas repricing adds another layer

Glamsterdam also includes gas repricing changes. Jayanthi said the update will “change the cost of actions on Ethereum,” adding that “high-level compute gets cheaper and state gets more expensive.”

The change aims to align fees more closely with the resources used by different operations. That could change how developers design contracts, especially when apps create or read large amounts of permanent state data.

As previously reported by crypto.news, Ethereum’s 2026 roadmap placed Glamsterdam and Hegotá after earlier upgrades such as Pectra and Fusaka. Those upgrades focused on validator performance, data capacity, and broader scaling work.

As crypto.news reported earlier, Fusaka’s testnet rollout centered on PeerDAS and blob capacity. Glamsterdam moves the roadmap deeper into Layer 1 execution and block production changes.

What Glamsterdam changes

Glamsterdam is Ethereum’s next planned hard fork. It combines consensus-layer and execution-layer updates, with the name blending Gloas and Amsterdam.

For regular ETH holders, the upgrade should not require changes to wallets or balances. Validators and node operators will need to install updated client software before mainnet activation.

The upgrade does not simply add one feature. It changes how Ethereum builds blocks, prepares data for execution, and prices some network actions.

Jayanthi described Glamsterdam as “probably the largest fork we’ve had since the Merge.” If testing stays stable, public testnets will be the next step before developers set a mainnet schedule.