Ethereum Glamsterdam: Final testing phase before the most significant hard fork since The Merge
Ethereum development teams have moved to the decisive stage of preparing the Glamsterdam upgrade. So-called "devnets" are now being launched — early test environments where the full set of planned protocol changes (EIPs) is being verified. This is the final "sandbox" before the code freeze and deployment on public test networks.
The Last Mile Before Launch
According to information obtained from Ethereum Foundation lead DevOps engineer Parithosh Jayanthi, work is focused specifically on devnets, which already include all the planned improvement proposals. This is the final validation phase before the code is finalized and released on test networks. The exact activation date for Glamsterdam has not yet been announced, but in my estimation, the most likely window for launch is the second half of 2026. A number of independent analysts point to the end of August as a benchmark, and I tend to agree, given the current pace of development.
Jayanthi himself calls Glamsterdam likely the largest hard fork since the transition to proof-of-stake (The Merge) in 2022. This upgrade will indeed change many fundamental concepts about how Ethereum works and lay the foundation for the future scaling of the network.
What Glamsterdam Changes: Three Key Updates
1. Built-in proposer-builder separation (ePBS — EIP-7732). This is perhaps the most significant innovation. It moves the separation of roles between those who assemble blocks of transactions and those who propose them into the core protocol. Today, this process largely relies on external services, creating "additional assumptions" about trust and carrying risks of centralization, especially in the context of maximal extractable value (MEV). Embedding the mechanism into the network is intended to radically reduce opportunities for MEV-related manipulation and make the ecosystem more resilient.
2. Block-level Access Lists (EIP-7928). This proposal will allow pre-declaring which accounts and smart contract data a block intends to access. Ethereum clients will be able to preload this information, making transaction execution faster, more predictable, and more optimized. For users, this means reduced latency and more stable performance.
3. Large-scale gas cost re-evaluation. This is perhaps the most discussed change. The new model aims to more accurately reflect the real computational resources consumed by various operations. As Jayanthi explains, high-level computations (e.g., complex operations in L2 solutions) will become cheaper, while state operations (reading and writing data) will become more expensive. The goal is to simplify scaling using zero-knowledge proof systems (ZK-rollups) and lay a healthier economic foundation for the entire network.
Currently, the developer community is focused on testing, refining specifications, and clarifying the implications of the gas cost re-evaluation. This is a complex but critically important process.
My analysis: Glamsterdam is not just another upgrade. It is a strategic move that addresses two main problems of Ethereum: centralization around MEV and the inefficiency of the gas market. ePBS is a "killer" of many off-chain MEV strategies, and the gas cost re-evaluation is a clear signal to the market that the future of Ethereum lies in L2 solutions. If the team successfully completes testing, we will see not only a technically more advanced network but also an economically more mature one. Stay tuned — this hard fork could become a catalyst for a new phase of growth for the entire sector.