In the first half of 2026, the crypto world is witnessing two leading blockchains simultaneously advance the most significant technical upgrades in their histories. On one side, Ethereum is testing its major hard fork codenamed Glamsterdam. On the other, the Solana network is rapidly moving its Firedancer client and Alpenglow protocol upgrade toward mainnet deployment. This has subtly shifted the focus of market discussions: where Ethereum was once seen as "the most secure settlement layer" and Solana was labeled "the fastest transaction chain," both networks are now converging on a common goal—Ethereum aims to prove it can be fast enough, while Solana seeks to demonstrate its stability.
A Hard Fork Targeting L1 Performance
Glamsterdam is Ethereum’s next major hard fork following the Pectra and Fusaka upgrades in 2025. The name merges the consensus layer’s "Glam" and the execution layer’s "Amsterdam," paying homage to the 2022 Devcon in Amsterdam. Scheduled for the first half of 2026, the upgrade targets three main objectives: more reliable block production, parallel transaction execution, and a significant reduction in gas fees.
In late April 2026, Ethereum core developers launched the first general-purpose development network (devnet) for Glamsterdam, integrating ePBS and block-level access lists—previously tested on separate networks—into a unified testing environment. This marks Ethereum’s largest integration testing phase since the Merge in September 2022. According to the Ethereum Foundation’s latest development brief, Glamsterdam’s progress is "slow but steady," with ePBS implementation identified as the primary engineering bottleneck.
For users and the market, Glamsterdam’s most tangible changes can be summarized by a few key figures: the gas limit will increase from 60 million to 200 million, theoretical throughput will jump from roughly 1,000 TPS to 10,000 TPS, and smart contract call fees are expected to drop by about 78.6%.
From Annual Upgrades to Predictable Engineering Delivery
Ethereum’s upgrade cadence has structurally evolved over the past three years. After the 2022 Merge, which transitioned the network from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, Ethereum maintained a pace of roughly one major upgrade per year—Shapella in 2023 and Dencun in 2024. In 2025, the successful rollout of both Pectra (May) and Fusaka (December) demonstrated that a biannual hard fork schedule is technically feasible.
Entering 2026, the Ethereum Foundation officially released its annual protocol priorities, systematically planning two named upgrades for the first time: Glamsterdam in the first half of the year and Hegotá in the second. Glamsterdam focuses on L1 scalability and block production optimization, while Hegotá will address shorter slot times, censorship resistance, and deeper protocol changes like account abstraction. This engineering-driven approach marks Ethereum’s transition from fragmented, EIP-centric updates to an era of "predictable engineering delivery."
Key timeline milestones:
- May 2025: Pectra upgrade activated.
- December 2025: Fusaka upgrade activated.
- January 2026: The 173rd ACDC meeting discusses Glamsterdam’s progress, noting that if EIP-7732 cannot achieve an interoperable version by the end of February, it may be postponed to a future fork.
- February 2026: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly outlines the core EIPs for Glamsterdam.
- Mid-April 2026: The first Glamsterdam devnet (devnet-0) launches, aiming to integrate and test ePBS and BALs.
- Late April 2026: The first general-purpose devnet goes live, entering the integration testing phase.
- June 2026 (target window): Expected mainnet activation, though the Ethereum Foundation emphasizes that a final date will only be set after rigorous testing.
Dissecting Two Core Technical Proposals
Glamsterdam’s architectural overhaul is driven by two EIPs, each targeting a different layer—block construction and transaction execution—to deliver a systemic boost in network performance.
EIP-7732 (ePBS)—Proposer-Builder Separation at the Protocol Level
ePBS (Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation) embeds the proposer-builder separation mechanism directly into the protocol. Currently, 80% to 90% of Ethereum’s blocks are built via off-chain relays like MEV-Boost, which, while improving efficiency, introduce centralization risks and reliance on third parties. Block proposers (validators) do not build blocks themselves but outsource this to a handful of specialized builders, leading to de facto power concentration.
EIP-7732 codifies this separation within the consensus layer. Builders continue to compete to create high-value blocks, but the bidding and selection process is handled automatically by the protocol, eliminating the need for external relays. The Beacon Chain block is split into consensus and execution segments: builders package transactions into execution payloads, and proposers select the optimal payload to publish the full block.
A crucial change is the expansion of the block propagation window—from roughly 2 seconds to 9 seconds—giving builders more time to optimize their blocks and validators more time to verify them, all without increasing latency for end users.
EIP-7928 (Block-Level Access Lists)—From Serial to Parallel Execution
EIP-7928 fundamentally changes Ethereum’s transaction execution model. Currently, the execution layer processes transactions serially—one at a time—with no way for nodes to know in advance which state each transaction will access. EIP-7928 introduces Block-Level Access Lists (BALs), requiring builders to declare all addresses and storage slots each transaction will touch when constructing a block.
With this comprehensive access list, nodes can preload state data before execution and identify non-conflicting transactions, assigning them to different CPU cores for parallel processing. According to research cited in the EIP-7928 draft, about 60% to 80% of on-chain transactions access non-overlapping storage slots, providing ample room for effective parallelization. Combined with the gas limit increase to 200 million, theoretical throughput could approach 10,000 TPS.
The synergy between these two EIPs is critical: BALs solve "how to execute in parallel," while ePBS provides a longer window for execution, together forming an end-to-end optimization pipeline from block production to transaction validation.
Key Data Summary
| Metric | Current Value | Post-Upgrade Target | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas Limit | ~60 million | 200 million | +233% |
| Base Layer TPS | ~1,000 | 10,000 | ~10x |
| Smart Contract Gas Fee | Baseline | ↓ 78.6% | -78.6% |
| Blob Slots | Current value | 72 | Expanded |
| Block Propagation Window | ~2 seconds | ~9 seconds | +350% |
All figures are developer estimates; actual results will depend on mainnet activation.
Ethereum Market Snapshot as of April 20, 2026 (Gate Data)
- ETH Price: $2,271.81
- 24h Change: -2.60%
- 24h Trading Volume: ~$391 million
- Circulating Supply: ~121 million ETH
- Market Cap: ~$27.569 billion
- Fully Diluted Market Cap: ~$27.569 billion
- Market Share: 10.41%
- All-Time High: $4,946.05
It’s worth noting that the Ethereum price has declined more than 54% from its all-time high in August 2025, following a deep correction. Meanwhile, spot Ethereum ETFs now manage about $13 billion in assets, reflecting growing institutional adoption. On-chain transaction volume hit a record 200 million in Q1 2026. This creates a notable lag between substantial technical progress and the current, relatively subdued price level.
Market Perspectives: Three Competing Narratives
Opinions on the Glamsterdam upgrade are clearly divided, with different stakeholders emphasizing distinct concerns.
Optimists: Anticipating a Turning Point
Many market participants view Glamsterdam as the most significant architectural upgrade since the Merge, with anticipated performance gains and cost reductions seen as potential inflection points for the Ethereum ecosystem. The nearly 80% drop in gas fees is expected to dramatically lower the barrier for everyday users to engage with DeFi and on-chain activities. For example, Uniswap trades, which currently cost $3–$8 in gas, could fall below $1. The introduction of parallel execution is likened to upgrading the network from a "single-lane road" to a "multi-lane highway," providing a stronger foundation for RWA asset tokenization and high-frequency interactions.
Looking at historical precedents, major Ethereum upgrades have often been bullish catalysts—ETH surged about 60% ahead of the Dencun upgrade (Q1 2024) and rose roughly 10% after Shapella (2023). This historical context offers a reference point for current observers.
Cautious Voices: Complexity Is the Real Constraint
Ethereum’s core developer community has maintained a cautious tone regarding Glamsterdam’s progress. The Ethereum Foundation’s official blog states: "ePBS implementation is proving more challenging than anticipated," because "every part of the stack must reason about ‘partial blocks’ and two-party cooperation—this change touches nearly every aspect of the protocol." Even less prominent features, such as gas repricing, face their own complexities.
Time pressure is another reality. At the January 2026 ACDC meeting, developers discussed removing EIP-7732 from Glamsterdam and postponing it to a future hard fork if an interoperable version wasn’t ready by the end of February. While the deadline has passed and the devnet launched on schedule, the discussion itself reflects the core team’s ongoing tradeoff between "progress and quality." As of late April, June remains the "target window," but Q3 is seen as a more realistic timeframe.
Debate: The Intrinsic Tensions of ePBS Design
ePBS’s design has sparked ongoing technical debate within the research and engineering communities. One focal point is the so-called "free option problem"—the Flashbots research team notes that the current EIP-7732 specification, with its 8-second exercise window, could grant builders a valuable "option" during periods of high volatility, potentially leading to a significant rise in empty blocks.
Another controversy centers on the "trustless builder payment" mechanism. Some core developers worry that codifying a specific payment mechanism in the protocol could constrain future design flexibility and negatively affect builder competition. Supporters counter that EIP-7732 does not prescribe any particular auction mechanism, and validators can still use tools like commit-boost to participate in various off-chain protocols.
Additionally, some research suggests that ePBS does not fully resolve builder centralization risks; toxic MEV may simply shift elsewhere, and there is a need to guard against new power centers forming at the validator level.
If L1 Gets Faster, Does L2’s Role Change?
Glamsterdam’s major L1 scaling has reignited debate over the relationship between L1 and L2. One view holds that improved L1 performance could weaken the economic incentives for users to migrate to L2. Another perspective points out that increasing blob slots to 72 will sharply reduce rollup data publication costs—lowering operational expenses for L2s like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base, and actually fostering L1-L2 co-evolution rather than a zero-sum game.
How the Upgrade Will Reshape the Ecosystem
Direct Impact on the Ethereum Network
With the gas limit raised to 200 million, each block can accommodate significantly more and more complex transactions. This structural change should ease gas fee volatility during peak congestion. Parallel execution will push validation efficiency to new heights, laying the groundwork for future scaling. ePBS brings block construction under protocol management, curbing centralization risks from external relays, though block building may still concentrate among a few top players.
Impact on Validators and the Staking Ecosystem
ePBS changes the validator reward model. With builder bidding and selection handled within the protocol, MEV revenue distribution becomes more transparent and auditable. Independent validators can participate in block selection without relying on external relays, lowering the entry barrier. However, builder competition remains highly specialized, and the overall market structure is unlikely to be fundamentally disrupted by ePBS alone. Gas repricing may also indirectly affect staking returns.
Impact on L2 and Rollup Ecosystems
Expanding blob slots from their current number to 72 means rollups can submit data batches to mainnet at much lower cost. For L2s like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base, this improves operational cost structures, with potential savings passed on to end users. At the same time, improved L1 performance gives users more reason to transact directly on mainnet, potentially creating a new dynamic equilibrium between L1 and L2.
Impact on Ethereum vs. Solana Competitive Dynamics
Industry watchers have dubbed 2026 the "year of direct confrontation" between the two leading public chains. Ethereum’s Glamsterdam and Hegotá upgrades focus on L1 scalability and censorship resistance, while Solana’s Alpenglow and Firedancer target consensus mechanisms and client diversity. Ethereum is shoring up its most criticized weakness—performance—while Solana is addressing its core engineering challenge—stability. Ultimately, the outcome won’t hinge on technical specs alone, but on where stablecoins, RWAs, and on-chain capital ultimately flow.
Conclusion
The Glamsterdam upgrade embodies Ethereum’s core engineering goals for the first half of 2026—reshaping block construction power dynamics with ePBS and ushering in a new era of parallel execution with EIP-7928. This is not a "storytelling" upgrade—there are no new tokenomics or hype-driven features—but a system-level architectural overhaul, with every change targeting the network’s most fundamental mechanisms. Its significance lies not in "beating Solana’s TPS numbers," but in proving to the market that the most stable systems can achieve substantial performance gains without sacrificing security.
For participants in the Ethereum ecosystem, the pace of Glamsterdam’s testnet rollout, the engineering progress of ePBS, the real-world impact of gas repricing on mainnet, and the integration of Hegotá later in the year are all key variables to watch closely going forward.
