Ethereum to Triple Its Capacity with Glamsterdam: Fees Could Approach Zero

The Ethereum network is moving toward a new technical milestone with Glamsterdam. This evolution is drawing attention from developers, as it could reshape resource management and transaction costs. As work progresses, the network is preparing for a significant increase in capacity, with a clear goal: handle more activity without compromising its internal balance.

Ethereum prepares for a major capacity increase

Ethereum is moving forward with the Glamsterdam upgrade, placing mainnet capacity at the center of development efforts. It aims to improve transaction processing while preserving the protocol’s technical balance. This momentum also comes at a time of maturity, as the network has recently surpassed 25 million validated blocks since its launch.

According to Hasu, an advisor at Lido, Ethereum’s gas limit could rise from around 60 million today to nearly 200 million after Glamsterdam. This increase would more than triple the execution capacity of layer 1.

This expansion would provide more room for transactions and decentralized applications. Then, capacity could double again shortly after, further strengthening the network’s potential.

However, Ethereum’s focus extends beyond merely increasing throughput. The network must also limit the growth of state size, which includes all permanently stored data.

Glamsterdam could bring mainnet fees close to zero

The Glamsterdam upgrade notably relies on EIP-8037, a proposal that increases the gas cost for state creation. This adjustment aims to make writing new stakes pricier.

As a result, Ethereum could raise its gas limit without triggering unlimited growth in network data. This approach seeks a balance between higher throughput and technical stability.

According to Hasu, if demand does not increase at the same pace, mainnet fees could remain close to zero for several years.

The upgrade also changes how certain operations are priced. In this context, the Ethereum ecosystem aims to better manage network load, block construction, and resource-related costs.

Developers are making progress on the update’s hard fork

Ethereum developers recently worked on this upgrade during an intensive session in Longyearbyen, in the Svalbard archipelago. More than 100 core contributors took part in these technical discussions.

They made progress on three key points. First, they agreed on a minimum threshold of 200 million for the gas limit after Glamsterdam. Second, they stabilized ePBS implementations by working with external tools. Finally, they validated the re-pricing figures related to EIP-8037.

In addition, Ethereum is advancing on features linked to Hegotá, such as FOCIL and native account abstraction. These elements contribute to the network’s overall evolution.

Increasing the gas limit remains a multidimensional challenge. Glamsterdam addresses block construction, client-side load management, and how costs evolve with throughput.

Overall, Glamsterdam represents a significant advancement for Ethereum. Despite some criticism related to the management of Ether and its ecosystem, the network is focusing on a significant capacity increase to streamline activity and sustainably reduce fees. This evolution could strengthen the appeal of layer 1, provided that we maintain a solid balance between performance, costs, and decentralization.