Ethereum's Glamsterdam Upgrade Targets Layer-1 Capacity Boost
Ethereum's next major protocol upgrade, Glamsterdam, is set to increase Layer-1 capacity and improve block construction, propagation, and processing. Scheduled for Q4 2026, this upgrade focuses on enhancing transaction processing and network scalability.
The name 'Glamsterdam' combines Amsterdam, the execution-layer upgrade named after a previous Devcon location, with Gloas, the consensus-layer upgrade named after a star. This upgrade follows Fusaka, activated in December 2025, and aims to improve parallelization, expand capacity, and control long-term database growth.
Ethereum's roadmap highlights Glamsterdam as a structural scaling upgrade, preparing its base layer for higher throughput while maintaining sustainable and decentralized validation. Key changes include Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS), which could increase the effective execution-payload propagation window from two to nine seconds; Block-Level Access Lists (BALs); and revised gas pricing.
The Ethereum Foundation's 2026 protocol priorities mention BALs as supporting efforts to raise Ethereum's gas limit towards and beyond 100 million. Glamsterdam also introduces EIP-2780, which restructures intrinsic transaction gas, potentially making ordinary ETH transfers between existing accounts up to 71% cheaper.