Glamsterdam: Ethereum’s High-Performance Glow-Up
Forget the days when Ethereum’s Mainnet was just a slow "settlement layer" for faster L2s. The Glamsterdam upgrade, slated for the first half of 2026, is officially turning the "World Computer" into a high-speed powerhouse.
Think of it as the moment Ethereum stops being a single-lane road and opens a 12-lane superhighway. Here is why the crypto world is buzzing:
1. Parallel Processing: No More Waiting in Line
Until now, Ethereum processed transactions one by one—like a single cashier at a busy grocery store. Glamsterdam introduces Parallel Execution. By allowing the network to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, Ethereum is targeting a massive jump to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) on Layer 1.
2. The 200 Million Gas Limit: Breathing Room
The "Gas Limit" is basically the capacity of an Ethereum block. For years, it hovered around 15–30 million. Glamsterdam is set to crank that dial up to 200 million.
The Result? Lower fees, less congestion, and a Mainnet that is actually affordable for regular humans again.
3. ePBS: Power to the People
Behind the scenes, "Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation" (ePBS) is the real hero. It fixes the "MEV" problem—where big bots front-run your trades—by baking fairness directly into the protocol. It makes the network more decentralized and keeps the "big players" from manipulating transaction order for profit.
4. "Native" ZK Verification
Glamsterdam moves Ethereum toward the "ZK-Era." Around 10% of validators will start switching from heavy data re-execution to simply verifying Zero-Knowledge Proofs. It’s the ultimate efficiency hack: proving a thousand transactions are valid in the blink of an eye without needing to see every single detail.
"Glamsterdam isn't just a patch; it's a pivot. We're moving from a 'Rollup-centric' world to an 'Ethereum-centric' world where the base layer is actually fast enough to compete."
What’s Next?
As Glamsterdam rolls out, the focus will shift to the Heze-Bogota (Hegota) upgrade late in 2026, which aims to tackle privacy and censorship resistance.
