Ethereum Glamsterdam lifts Sepolia gas limit to near 200M; sampled blocks used under half
In brief
- Glamsterdam activated Tuesday on Sepolia, a testnet using tokens with no real value.
- Sepolia's gas limit rose to near 200 million from about 60 million, per CoinDesk.
- Block usage ran roughly 26% to 46% of the allowance in CoinDesk's sample of 25-plus blocks.
- Hoodi testnet activation is tentatively set for Oct. 27; mainnet has no activation date.
A bigger budget, half-empty blocks
Gas measures the computing work needed to process transactions. On Ethereum's live network, users compete for block space when too many transactions arrive at once, and that pushes fees higher. The Sepolia test has a processing budget more than three times its previous level, but this is a testnet (nothing about mainnet capacity or fees has changed).
It isn't a 3x jump in transactions either. Glamsterdam also changed how much gas particular tasks consume, so a threefold budget increase doesn't mean three times as many transactions.
The blocks weren't anywhere near the new ceiling. CoinDesk's own review of more than 25 consecutive test blocks found they used roughly 52 million to 92 million gas each, about 26% to 46% of the allowance.
None of the sampled blocks ran close to full.
That's the condition where the larger budget would put the most strain on the computers running the network. Consensus looked healthy, though: in a six-minute voting period early Thursday, all 32 scheduled blocks were proposed and 99.97% of eligible testnet stake voted toward finality, according to ethPandaOps' explorer as reported by CoinDesk.
What changed under the hood
Glamsterdam wrote the handoff between transaction builders and validators into the network's rules, giving validators more time to check transaction calculations. Blocks now come with 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 one after another.
The upgrade also adjusted charges for creating and accessing stored data. Developers were told to retest apps that assume particular gas costs.
What's next
Hoodi, the next public test network, is tentatively set for Oct. 27, and that date depends on the Sepolia results. Ethereum's mainnet doesn't have an activation date.
Frequently asked questions
Does a threefold gas limit on Sepolia mean three times as many Ethereum transactions?
No. Glamsterdam also changed how much gas particular tasks consume, so a threefold budget increase doesn't mean three times as many transactions. The higher limit is also only live on Sepolia, a test network that uses tokens with no real value.
How full were Sepolia blocks after the Glamsterdam upgrade?
CoinDesk reviewed more than 25 consecutive test blocks and found they used roughly 52 million to 92 million gas each, about 26% to 46% of the allowance. None ran close to full, which is the condition where the larger budget would put the most strain on network computers.
When will Glamsterdam reach Ethereum mainnet?
There's no mainnet activation date. Hoodi, the next public test network, is tentatively set for Oct. 27, pending the Sepolia results.
