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ePBS + EIP-7928: Can Glamsterdam technically challenge Solana's performance advantage?
In the first half of 2026, the crypto world sees two leading public blockchains simultaneously pushing forward their most significant technical iterations to date. On one side, Ethereum is testing a major hard fork codenamed Glamsterdam; on the other, Solana’s Firedancer client and Alpenglow protocol upgrades are accelerating toward mainnet deployment. As a result, the market’s focus has subtly shifted: Ethereum was previously positioned as the “most secure settlement layer,” while Solana was labeled the “fastest transaction chain.” Now, both are heading in the same direction—Ethereum to prove it can be fast enough, Solana to demonstrate it can be stable enough.
A Hard Fork Targeting L1 Performance
Glamsterdam is Ethereum’s next hard fork following the upgrades Pectra and Fusaka in 2025. The name combines “Glam” from the consensus layer and “Amsterdam” from the execution layer, paying homage to the 2022 Devcon in Amsterdam. The upgrade is scheduled for the first half of 2026, with three main goals: more reliable block production, parallel transaction execution, and a significant reduction in gas fees.
In late April 2026, Ethereum core developers launched the first general testnet (devnet) for Glamsterdam, integrating previously tested ePBS and block-level access lists into a unified testing environment. This marks the largest integrated testing phase since the Merge in September 2022. According to the latest developer briefing from the Ethereum Foundation, progress is described as “slow but steady,” with the implementation of ePBS identified as the current main engineering bottleneck.
For users and the market, Glamsterdam’s most immediate changes can be summarized with a set of numbers: gas limit increases from the current 60 million to 200 million, theoretical throughput from about 1,000 TPS to 10,000 TPS, and smart contract call fees are expected to decrease by approximately 78.6%.
From Annual Upgrade to Predictable Engineering Delivery
Ethereum’s upgrade cadence has undergone structural changes over the past three years. After the 2022 Merge transitioned the network from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, it maintained roughly one major upgrade per year—namely, Shapella in 2023 and Dencun in 2024. The dual upgrades of Pectra (May) and Fusaka (December) in 2025 demonstrated that a semi-annual hard fork development rhythm is feasible.
Entering 2026, the Ethereum Foundation officially published its annual protocol priorities, systematically planning for two named upgrades: Glamsterdam in the first half and Hegotá in the second. The former focuses on L1 scalability and block production improvements, while the latter extends to shorter slot times, censorship resistance, and account abstraction. This engineering-driven rhythm signals Ethereum’s transition from fragmented updates centered on EIPs to an era of “predictable engineering delivery.”
Key milestones include:
Dissecting Two Core Technical Proposals
Glamsterdam’s architectural overhaul is driven by two EIPs, each targeting different aspects of block construction and transaction execution, working together to systemically enhance network performance.
EIP-7732 (ePBS) — Separation of Block Proposer and Builder Responsibilities
ePBS (Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation) embeds the separation of block proposing and building into the protocol consensus layer. Currently, 80–90% of blocks on Ethereum depend on external relays like MEV-Boost, which, while improving efficiency, introduce centralization risks and trust dependencies on third parties. Block proposers (validators) do not build blocks themselves but outsource construction to specialized builders via relays, creating a de facto centralization.
EIP-7732 codifies this separation directly into the protocol. Builders continue to compete to produce high-value blocks, but the bidding and selection process is automated within the protocol, removing reliance on external relays. It splits beacon chain blocks into consensus and execution parts: builders package transactions into execution payloads, proposers select the optimal payloads, and publish complete blocks.
A key change is the expansion of the block propagation window—from about 2 seconds to 9 seconds—giving builders more time to optimize their packaging, while validators gain a longer validation window, with no increase in perceived user latency.
EIP-7928 (Block-Level Access Lists) — From Serial to Parallel Execution
EIP-7928 fundamentally changes how Ethereum executes transactions. Currently, execution is serial: nodes process one transaction at a time, with no prior knowledge of which state addresses or storage slots subsequent transactions will access. EIP-7928 introduces block-level access lists (BALs), requiring builders to declare all addresses and storage slots that each transaction will access when constructing the block.
With this complete access list, nodes can preload state data before execution and identify non-conflicting transactions to run in parallel across multiple CPU cores. Research data from the draft suggests that roughly 60–80% of transactions on Ethereum do not overlap in accessed storage slots, providing ample room for effective parallelization. Coupled with the gas limit increase to 200 million, theoretical throughput could approach tens of thousands of TPS.
The synergy between these two EIPs is crucial: BALs address “how to execute in parallel,” while ePBS provides a longer window for execution, forming a comprehensive optimization from block creation to transaction validation.
Summary of Key Data
All figures are developer estimates; actual results depend on mainnet deployment.
Ethereum Market Snapshot as of April 20, 2026 (based on Gate.io prices)
Notably, ETH has retraced over 54% from its peak in August 2025. Meanwhile, spot ETF assets under management are around $13 billion, with institutional allocations forming. On-chain transaction volume hit a record 200 million transactions in Q1 2026. The substantial technical progress contrasts with the relatively moderate price levels, creating an interesting temporal gap.
Market Perspectives: Three Voices in Discourse
Attitudes toward Glamsterdam’s upgrade are notably polarized among industry participants, with different groups emphasizing different aspects.
Optimists: The Anticipated Turning Point
Many see Glamsterdam as the most significant architectural upgrade since the Merge, with performance gains and cost reductions potentially marking a turning point for Ethereum’s ecosystem. The nearly 80% gas fee reduction could significantly lower barriers for ordinary users engaging in DeFi and on-chain interactions—e.g., reducing Uniswap transaction fees from $3–8 to below $1. The introduction of parallel execution is likened to upgrading from a “single-lane road” to a “multi-lane highway,” supporting more complex use cases like RWA onboarding and high-frequency trading.
Historical performance of major upgrades supports this optimism: Dencun (Q1 2024) saw ETH rise about 60%, and Shapella (2023) about 10%. These figures provide a reference framework for current expectations.
Cautious: Complexity as the Real Constraint
Ethereum core developers remain cautious about Glamsterdam’s progress. The Foundation’s official blog notes that “implementing ePBS is more challenging than expected,” because “each part of the stack must reason about ‘partial blocks’ and their coordination—this change touches nearly every layer of the protocol.” Non-core features like gas re-pricing also face complexity.
Time pressure is another factor. At the January ACDC meeting, developers discussed that if EIP-7732 isn’t ready by late February, it might be removed from Glamsterdam and deferred to a future hard fork. Although the February deadline has passed and the devnet launched as scheduled, this discussion reflects the ongoing trade-off between “progress and quality.” As of late April, June remains the “hopeful target,” with Q3 viewed as a more realistic window.
Controversy: The Intrinsic Tension in ePBS Design
Within the research and engineering communities, debates persist over ePBS’s design. One focus is the so-called “free option problem”: Flashbots researchers warn that the 8-second window in EIP-7732 could give builders a valuable “option,” potentially increasing the proportion of empty blocks during high volatility.
Another controversy concerns the “trustless builder payment” mechanism. Some core developers worry that embedding a specific payment scheme into the protocol could limit future flexibility and negatively impact builder competition. Supporters counter that EIP-7732 does not specify auction mechanisms, and validators can still participate via off-chain protocols like commit-boost.
Additionally, some studies suggest ePBS does not fully address centralization risks among block builders; toxic MEV could shift, and new power centers at the validator level may emerge.
If L1 Gets Faster, Will L2’s Role Change?
Glamsterdam’s significant scaling of the base layer has sparked renewed discussion about the relationship between L1 and L2. One view argues that improved L1 performance might reduce the economic incentives for users to migrate to L2. Conversely, increasing blob slots to 72 could greatly lower Rollup data publication costs—reducing operational expenses for networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base—thus fostering a co-evolution rather than a zero-sum game.
How Upgrades Reshape the Ecosystem
Direct Impact on Ethereum Network
Raising the gas limit to 200 million allows for more transactions per block and higher complexity, potentially alleviating fee volatility during peak congestion. Parallel execution will push validation efficiency to new heights, laying groundwork for future scaling. ePBS’s implementation reduces centralization risks associated with relays, but block construction may still concentrate among high-tier participants.
Impact on Validators and Staking Ecosystem
ePBS alters validator revenue models. With builder bidding and selection managed within the protocol, MEV revenue distribution becomes more transparent and auditable. Independent validators can participate in block selection without relying on relays, lowering entry barriers. However, competition among builders remains highly specialized, so the market structure of block construction is unlikely to change dramatically. Gas re-pricing could also indirectly influence staking yields.
Impact on L2 and Rollup Ecosystems
The increase in blob slots from the current number to 72 significantly reduces the cost for Rollups to submit batched data to the mainnet. This improves operational economics for networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base, potentially passing savings to end users. Meanwhile, improved L1 performance offers users more options to transact directly on Ethereum, possibly leading to a new balance between L1 and L2.
Impact on Ethereum and Solana Competition
2026 is seen as a pivotal year for the rivalry between the two major chains. Ethereum’s Glamsterdam and Hegotá upgrades focus on L1 scalability and censorship resistance, while Solana’s Alpenglow and Firedancer aim to strengthen consensus mechanisms and client diversity. Ethereum is addressing its “performance” weakness, while Solana is tackling its “stability” engineering challenges. Ultimately, the outcome depends less on raw technical specs and more on the flow of stablecoins, RWA, and on-chain capital.
Conclusion
Glamsterdam embodies Ethereum’s core engineering goals for the first half of 2026, reshaping block construction authority via ePBS and ushering in a new era of parallel execution with EIP-7928. This isn’t a “storytelling” upgrade—no new tokenomics or flashy features—but a systemic architectural overhaul, with every cut targeting the network’s most fundamental mechanisms. Its significance lies not in surpassing Solana in TPS but in proving that a system can be both stable and achieve sufficient performance improvements.
For Ethereum ecosystem participants, the pace of testnet development, progress on ePBS, real-world effects of gas re-pricing, and the Hegotá upgrade in the second half are key variables to watch.