Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade debuts on Sepolia testnet

Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade has successfully launched on the Sepolia testnet, marking a key 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. This development is part of the final testnet rehearsals before the upgrade is rolled out on the mainnet.

The Glamsterdam upgrade is designed to advance Ethereum’s layer-1 scaling roadmap with several major changes, including enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS), block-level access lists (BALs), and adjustments to gas pricing. These changes aim to make the Ethereum network more scalable and efficient, according to a Sept. 28 blog post by the Ethereum Foundation.

Two of the most significant changes introduced by Glamsterdam are EIP-7732, which separates block proposers and builders in Ethereum’s consensus protocol, and EIP-7928, which enforces block-level access lists. These changes are expected to improve transaction processing and validation, enabling higher throughput and larger block sizes without increasing the gas limit.

Following the Sepolia testnet launch, developers will determine the activation date for the Hoodi testnet before finalizing the mainnet launch date. The Ethereum Foundation has set a 200 million gas limit floor for Glamsterdam, which is expected to provide a significant speed boost compared to the current gas limit of around 60 million.