Ethereum Prepares for Glamsterdam Testnet Upgrade Amid Shift to Proof-Heavy Infrastructure
Ethereum is preparing for its next major testnet upgrade, Glamsterdam, which will take place on October 6. This upgrade is significant as it introduces changes to block building and parallel execution, laying the groundwork for a substantially higher L1 gas limit.
The Ethereum Foundation has confirmed that testing has produced a credible 200-million post-Glamsterdam gas-limit floor, enabled by ePBS, access-list optimizations, and new state-pricing rules. However, this comes with breaking changes that may create compatibility risks, particularly for existing smart contracts.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has also signaled the end of 'normal' forks, stating that Hegotá, planned after Glamsterdam, could be Ethereum's last relatively 'normal' fork before changes involving recursive STARKs and stronger formal verification become increasingly central.