Ethereum is preparing an important new test for Glamsterdam. On October 26 at 5:42 PM UTC, the upgrade will be activated on Hoodi with a limit of 200 million gas per block. The test network will thus go well above the approximately 60 million previously used as a reference. After Sepolia in early October, Ethereum wants to verify that such a capacity can work without making the blocks too heavy to process.
In brief
- Glamsterdam will arrive on Hoodi on October 26 at 5:42 p.m. UTC.
- The gas limit will be increased to 200 million per block.
- No activation date on the mainnet has yet been set.
Ethereum pushes Glamsterdam to 200 million gas
Hoodi is the next step after the successful activation of Glamsterdam on Sepolia on October 6. The Ethereum Foundation has set the fork on October 26, at epoch 132,352 and slot 4,235,264. At the same time, the testnet gas limit will be raised to 200 million.
This number measures the maximum amount of computing work a block can hold. The higher the limit, the more Ethereum can theoretically integrate transactions, DeFi exchanges or interactions with smart contracts in the same block.
Sepolia has already provided some data. After its passage in Glamsterdam, certain blocks operated with a limit close to 200 million gas. However, the blocks studied only used between 26 and 46%. During a six-minute observation period, all predicted blocks were produced and 99.97% of eligible stake participated in the finality. The next test should now verify this behavior in the Hoodi environment.
200 million does not mean three times more transactions
Going from 60 to 200 million represents a multiplication by around 3.3, or a theoretical capacity increase of 233%. Ethereum has been aiming for this 200 million mark for several months. The developers now consider this level technically credible thanks to several changes introduced with Glamsterdam.
Block-Level Access Lists must notably indicate in advance which parts of the Ethereum state will be used by a block. This allows customers to better prepare certain readings and pave the way for more parallel processing.
The ePBS, for its part, modifies the relationship between validators and players specializing in the construction of blocks. But a three times higher cap does not automatically mean three times more transactions. The nature of the operations matters a lot. A simple ETH transfer, a complex swap and the deployment of a smart contract do not consume the same amount of gas.
Ethereum also needs to monitor its state growth. More execution can generate more persistent data for nodes to maintain. Glamsterdam is therefore also reviewing the pricing of certain operations with the EIP-8037 and EIP-8038. Some actions might even cost more gas after upgrading.
The Ethereum mainnet still has no date
The calendar stops at Hoodi for now. The Ethereum Foundation explicitly states that the date for Glamsterdam’s deployment to the mainnet has not yet been decided. The increase to 200 million on Hoodi should therefore not be presented as the already established future configuration of the main network.
Developers first want to observe the ability of clients, validators, and infrastructure to track. Ethereum had already taken a phased approach with Fusaka, activated in December 2025. This upgrade notably set the stage for higher execution capacity and better data processing.
Glamsterdam continues the work with greater ambition. However, the market context is less favorable. ETH was trading around $2,400 on October 18, compared to nearly $2,726 at the start of the month according to data collected by Coinpaper.
The passage of Hoodi therefore does not guarantee any rebound in the price. Above all, it must answer a technical question: can Ethereum accept much larger blocks without making its network too cumbersome to operate? October 26 will provide a new part of the answer.
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