Ethereum core developers have moved the Glamsterdam upgrade into its final development stage this week, spinning up multi-client test networks that bundle every Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) slated for the fork. If it ships as planned, Glamsterdam will be the network’s biggest overhaul since 2022.
The gas limit jump
The most eye-catching target is a 200 million gas limit — a massive increase from the current ~30 million. That would let the chain process more transactions per block, but it also raises questions about state growth and node hardware requirements. Developers haven’t said whether the final gas limit will land exactly at 200 million or adjust during testing.
Testing the fork
Full-scale testing is now underway across multiple client implementations. The goal is to catch consensus bugs, performance bottlenecks, and any EIP interactions that break under load before the upgrade hits mainnet. Testnet launch dates for the fork haven’t been announced yet, but the shift to multi-client tests signals the team is past the spec phase and into real engineering.
What’s in the upgrade
Glamsterdam bundles a set of EIPs that have been debated in the Ethereum community for months. While the exact list hasn’t been finalized in the source facts, the fork is expected to include changes aimed at scaling, efficiency, and preparing the network for future upgrades. The 200 million gas target alone would be a step change for throughput, though it puts pressure on layer-1 node operators to keep up.
The last time Ethereum attempted a change this large was the Merge. That transition went smoother than many expected. Glamsterdam’s stakes are lower — it’s not a consensus overhaul — but the gas limit increase is the kind of parameter change that can have subtle knock-on effects on fee markets and block propagation.
No mainnet date has been set. Developers are likely to announce a testnet launch in the coming weeks, then a target month for the real thing. Until then, the multi-client tests are the only show in town.
