TL;DR
- The Ethereum Foundation launched Platåberget, a public testnet that allows developers to test the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade before its mainnet deployment
- The testnet went live on August 17 and will execute the Glamsterdam fork on August 20, simulating a transition on an active chain.
- Glamsterdam will introduce proposer-builder separation (EIP-7732), block-level access lists (EIP-7928), and a gas price overhaul.
The Ethereum Foundation announced the launch of Platåberget, a public testnet designed so that developers and infrastructure operators can prepare for the Glamsterdam upgrade before it reaches mainnet.
The testnet went live on August 17 and will execute the corresponding fork on August 20, with a methodology deliberately different from previous test networks: it launched from the current mainnet state, with Glamsterdam’s changes scheduled to activate at a later date, which allows for a faithful simulation of how the transition will look on an active chain.
The Ethereum Foundation stressed the urgency of acting in advance, especially for wallets, blockchain indexers, gas estimators, and any tool that assumes a fixed maximum gas limit, since that assumption will no longer function correctly with the upgrade. Developers were directed to EIP-8037, which introduces the state gas dimension, and to EIP-2780 and EIP-8038, which break down the associated costs. The testnet will remain active for at least a few months.
What Changes in Ethereum with Glamsterdam
The most significant change in Glamsterdam is the protocol-level incorporation of proposer-builder separation through EIP-7732. According to Everstake, a staking provider on the network, currently 88% of Ethereum blocks are assembled off-chain through MEV-Boost relays, leaving validators without fallbacks at the protocol level when those relays fail or censor transactions. The new system introduces on-chain builder identities, signed bids, and a payload timeliness committee to ensure every block arrives on time.
The second relevant change is block-level access lists through EIP-7928, which record every account and storage slot a block touches along with the resulting state. Both proposals lay the groundwork for a plan aimed at raising Ethereum‘s gas limit from 60 million toward 200 million. The upgrade will also increase the maximum size of deployed contracts from 24 KiB to 64 KiB and the initcode cap from 48 KiB to 128 KiB.
Before reaching mainnet, Glamsterdam will need to go through a phase of community feedback and client software updates, estimated to last one month, followed by testing on the historical testnets Sepolia and Hoodi. Meanwhile, the ecosystem already has its sights set on the Hegotá upgrade, scheduled for 2027.
