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Ethereum developers have pushed back the target timeline for the next mainnet upgrade, Glamsterdam, from the first half of 2026 to the fourth quarter. Simultaneously, the team launched Platåberget, a public testnet dedicated exclusively to Glamsterdam, allowing anyone to preview the upgrade before mainnet deployment. Platåberget is designed to simulate the mainnet transition process through a hard fork on August 20, after which the upgrade will progress through the Sepolia and Hoodi testnets before reaching mainnet. The core features of Glamsterdam include protocol-enshrined proposer-builder separation (EIP-7732) and block-level access lists (EIP-7928), which lay the groundwork for expanding the gas limit from 60 million to 200 million. Developers have also begun scoping the subsequent upgrade, Hegotá, reviewing 66 EIPs for potential inclusion.
Key Elements
Ethereum developers have delayed the target timeline for the next mainnet upgrade, “Glamsterdam,” from the first half of 2026 to the fourth quarter of 2026. Alongside the delay, the development team launched “Platåberget,” a public testnet dedicated exclusively to Glamsterdam, allowing anyone to experience the upgrade’s changes before they reach mainnet.
According to crypto-focused media outlet CryptoSlate on the 17th (local time), Ethereum developers plan to operate Platåberget for several months before expanding to the Sepolia and Hoodi testnets. The Ethereum Foundation emphasized the urgency of early preparation, warning that wallet operators, blockchain indexers, gas estimators, and various tooling that assumes a fixed maximum gas limit may not function properly after the upgrade.
The Foundation advised developers to review EIP-8037, which introduces a state gas dimension, as well as EIP-2780 and EIP-8038, which address decomposed costs.
How Platåberget Differs from Existing Testnets
Platåberget is a testnet built specifically for Glamsterdam and is structurally distinct from the existing Hoodi and Sepolia testnets. Its most notable feature is that it is a public testnet. Unlike the private developer networks (devnets) used in earlier stages, access is open to the general public.
Another differentiator is its launch mechanism. Platåberget is designed to start in a state identical to the current mainnet and then apply Glamsterdam’s changes through a hard fork on August 20. This means participants don’t simply join a chain where new rules are already in effect — they can simulate the actual transition process that will occur on mainnet, live on an active chain.
Several steps remain before Glamsterdam reaches mainnet. First, approximately one month will be allocated for gathering and consolidating community feedback on client software. Only after that will the upgrade progress through the Sepolia and Hoodi testnets before finally reaching mainnet.
What Glamsterdam Will Change
The Glamsterdam upgrade is expected to bring changes to both layers of Ethereum. The most significant change is EIP-7732, which enshrines proposer-builder separation (PBS) directly into the protocol.
According to Ethereum staking provider Everstake, approximately 88% of Ethereum blocks are currently assembled off-chainn relays censor transactions or fail to deliver blocks, validators have no protocol-level recourse
With EIP-7732, on-chain builder identities, signed bids, and a new payload-timeliness committee will enable protocol-level verification that blocks arrive as scheduled.
The second core change is EIP-7928, which introduces block-level access lists. This records all accounts and storage slots a block touches, along with the resulting state.
Together, EIP-7732 and EIP-7928 lay the groundwork for raising the gas limit from the current 60 million to 200 million. The upgrade will also expand the maximum deployed contract size from 24 KiB to 64 KiB and raise the initcode limit from 48 KiB to 128 KiB.
Scoping Begins for Follow-Up Upgrade Hegotá
Developers have also begun work on defining the scope of “Hegotá,” the upgrade that will follow Glamsterdam. They are currently reviewing 66 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) submitted for Hegotá and plan to finalize priority candidates by the end of this month.
Potential inclusions for Hegotá include faster block production, increased Layer 1 throughput, enhanced censorship resistance, and improved privacy features. However, given development timelines, a significant number of proposals are expected to be excluded or deferred to subsequent upgrades. Hegotá is targeted for deployment in 2027.
Glamsterdam’s delay to Q4 once again demonstrates Ethereum’s cautious approach to upgrades. The practice of allocating substantial time to extensive pre-verification through public testnets and community feedback collection is widely interpreted as an effort to minimize risks inherent in large-scale network transitions. That said, it’s difficult to ignore the possibility that repeated schedule slippages could heighten market concerns about Ethereum’s competitiveness.
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Source: finance.biggo.com