Ethereum Glamsterdam Upgrade Launches on Sepolia Testnet

Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade has successfully launched on the Sepolia testnet, marking a critical milestone ahead of its mainnet activation. The upgrade went live on Tuesday at 1:53 pm UTC, as announced by Ethereum community contributor Pooja Ranjan on X.

The Glamsterdam upgrade is designed to advance Ethereum’s layer-1 scaling roadmap, introducing key features such as enshrined proposer-builder separation, block-level access lists, and adjustments to gas pricing. These changes aim to enhance the network’s scalability and efficiency, according to a Sept. 28 blog post from the Ethereum Foundation.

Two of the most significant changes include enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS) and block-level access lists (BALs). ePBS, introduced via EIP-7732, separates block proposers and builders within Ethereum’s consensus protocol, allowing validators more time to validate execution payloads. BALs, introduced via EIP-7928, record accounts and storage locations accessed during a block, enabling parallel processing and more efficient state root computations.

Following the Sepolia testnet launch, developers will next activate Glamsterdam on the Hoodi testnet before finalizing the mainnet launch date. The upgrade is expected to significantly boost Ethereum’s transaction processing capacity, with a planned gas limit increase from around 60 million to 200 million, as mentioned in a May blog post by the Ethereum Foundation.

After Glamsterdam’s mainnet activation, Ethereum developers will begin work on the next major upgrade, Hegotá, which includes proposals aimed at enhancing privacy capabilities within the protocol.