Ethereum’s Glamsterdam test runs near 200 million gas per block after upgrade

What changed when the Glamsterdam upgrade raised Sepolia’s block limit to nearly 200 million gas?

Glamsterdam sharply increased Sepolia’s processing allowance. A block can now contain work costing nearly 200 million gas, compared with about 60 million before the upgrade. The goal is to test whether Ethereum can handle more payments and trades before users compete intensely for block space.

The change is not simply a threefold increase in transaction count. Glamsterdam also changes the gas costs of particular tasks. In CoinDesk’s sample of more than 25 consecutive blocks, usage ranged from roughly 52 million to 92 million gas. Those blocks filled only 26% to 46% of their available capacity.

This is still a rehearsal, not a mainnet change. Developers are watching whether computers running the network can manage larger blocks reliably. Sepolia’s results will inform a tentative Hoodi test on Oct. 27, while Ethereum has not set a mainnet activation date.

What is gas on Ethereum, and why is it used to measure the computing work required by transactions?

Gas is Ethereum’s measure of computational work. Transactions ask the network to perform tasks, and those tasks require computers to calculate and update information. Expressing the work in gas gives developers and network operators a common way to measure how much processing a block contains.

The article uses gas to describe Sepolia’s capacity. Before Glamsterdam, blocks had a limit of about 60 million gas. Afterward, the limit approached 200 million. The upgrade also changes how much gas particular tasks consume, so the larger block allowance does not directly mean three times as many transactions.

Gas matters because block space and computer capacity are limited. On Ethereum’s live network, heavy demand makes users compete for space, pushing fees higher. A larger allowance could fit more activity before that competition intensifies, but it also places more demands on the computers that run the network.

How large was the increase in Sepolia’s processing allowance, and how much of that capacity did the sampled blocks actually use?

The processing allowance increased by roughly 140 million gas. Sepolia moved from a limit of about 60 million gas per block to nearly 200 million after Glamsterdam activated. That is more than three times the former allowance, creating a much larger test space for Ethereum’s block-processing changes.

Actual early usage was far lower. CoinDesk reviewed more than 25 consecutive test blocks and found that each used roughly 52 million to 92 million gas. In percentage terms, the blocks consumed about 26% to 46% of their available allowance. None came close to filling the new limit.

That gap is important for testing. The larger budget would put the greatest strain on network computers when blocks run near capacity. Sepolia therefore shows that the limit is available, but it has not yet demonstrated sustained full-capacity operation. Developers will use the results before testing on Hoodi.

What could happen to transaction fees and the number of payments or trades Ethereum can handle if larger blocks work reliably?

Larger reliable blocks could increase Ethereum’s room for activity. When more payments and trades fit into each block, users may face less immediate competition for limited space. On the live network, that competition can push transaction fees higher when many transactions arrive together.

Glamsterdam illustrates the mechanism through Sepolia’s new allowance. Its block limit rose from about 60 million to nearly 200 million gas. However, the upgrade also changes the gas consumed by particular tasks. Therefore, a threefold increase in the processing budget cannot be converted directly into three times as many transactions.

The benefit remains conditional. Larger blocks demand more from the computers running Ethereum, especially if blocks approach their limits. Early Sepolia blocks used only 26% to 46% of capacity, so developers are still testing reliability under heavier loads. No mainnet activation date has been set.

Why are Sepolia and Hoodi being used to test Glamsterdam before any activation on Ethereum’s mainnet?

Sepolia and Hoodi are public test networks. They give Ethereum developers places to run the upgrade before changing the live network. Sepolia uses tokens with no real value, so developers can examine the software and its effects without directly changing Ethereum’s mainnet activity.

The tests expose practical risks. Developers can observe block limits, actual gas use, whether scheduled blocks are produced, and whether testnet stake votes toward finality. On Sepolia, more than 25 sampled blocks used 26% to 46% of capacity. During one six-minute period, all 32 scheduled blocks were proposed and 99.97% of eligible stake voted toward finality.

Hoodi is the next public test network, tentatively planned for Oct. 27, pending Sepolia’s results. Mainnet activation has no date. This staged approach lets developers retest applications and examine changed data-access and storage costs before deployment.

How do transaction specialists and validators divide the work of assembling, checking, and publishing Ethereum blocks under the upgrade?

The upgrade changes how Ethereum divides block-building work. Transaction specialists assemble transactions into proposed blocks. Validators then check the transaction calculations and publish blocks through the network’s rules. Formalizing that handoff is intended to give validators more time for verification.

The article also describes a second aid to parallel checking. Blocks include a list of the accounts and stored information their transactions touch. Software can use that list to fetch data ahead of time and check unrelated transactions simultaneously, instead of processing everything in one sequence.

These changes support the larger processing budget, but they do not remove the hardware challenge. More activity still demands more from the computers running Ethereum. Developers are testing the design on Sepolia, where the new limit is nearly 200 million gas, and will consider Hoodi after reviewing the results. Mainnet timing remains undecided.

How does a blockchain such as Ethereum use distributed computers and consensus to agree that a transaction history is final?

A blockchain such as Ethereum keeps its record across many network computers rather than one central machine. Those computers receive transactions, check whether the proposed work follows the rules, and exchange information about blocks. Consensus is the process they use to agree on which valid history the network should accept.

Validators play a central role in the article’s testing. They publish blocks and check transaction calculations. A block also lists the accounts and stored information its transactions touch, helping software fetch data early and check unrelated transactions at the same time. Once the network reaches finality, it treats the transaction history as settled.

Sepolia provided an early performance signal. During a six-minute voting period, all 32 scheduled blocks were proposed, and 99.97% of eligible testnet stake voted toward finality, according to ethPandaOps’ explorer. Developers still need more testing before any mainnet activation.

Key Facts:

📌 Sepolia’s limit rose from about 60 million to nearly 200 million gas.

📌 The upgrade aims to accommodate more payments and trades.

📌 Sampled blocks used 26% to 46% of available capacity.

📌 Gas measures the computing work required to process transactions.

📌 Glamsterdam changes gas costs for particular tasks.

📌 A larger gas limit does not directly mean three times as many transactions.

📌 Sepolia rose from about 60 million to nearly 200 million gas.