Ethereum's next major network upgrade cleared an important milestone this month, even as the price of ether moved the other way. Glamsterdam activated on the Sepolia test network on 6 October, according to crypto.news, with testing run at a 200 million gas limit compared with roughly 60 million previously. CoinDesk described the Sepolia deployment as a critical dress rehearsal for mainnet. No final mainnet date has been confirmed.
The same week, ether fell 6.77 percent to about 2,488 dollars, according to The Rio Times, as high oil prices, expectations of further rate rises and Middle East tension weighed on risk assets. The contrast captures a familiar pattern in crypto: technical progress on the network and short-term price moves often run on different timelines.
What Glamsterdam is
Ethereum upgrades are coordinated changes to the rules that every node on the network follows. Each is given a name, and Glamsterdam combines two: changes to the execution layer, which processes transactions, and the consensus layer, which coordinates validators. Upgrades are tested on public test networks such as Sepolia before they are scheduled for the main network.
CoinDesk reported that the upgrade covers account abstraction enhancements and data availability optimisations. During planning in 2025, Ethereum developers also selected enshrined proposer-builder separation and block-level access lists as headline features for Glamsterdam, aimed at making block production fairer and transaction processing more efficient. Final scope is confirmed through developer calls and client releases.
The overall aim is a faster, higher-capacity network. Ethereum has spent years scaling through layer two networks built on top of it, while gradually raising the capacity of the base layer. Glamsterdam continues that work, with the testnet gas limit offering a glimpse of how much headroom developers want to unlock.
Upgrades are coordinated by Ethereum's core developers through public calls, with client teams building the software that validators run. Because no single company controls the network, an upgrade only activates once enough independent client teams have implemented it and validators have updated their software. That process is slower than a corporate product launch, but it is designed to prevent mistakes on a network that secures hundreds of billions of dollars.
Why the 200 million gas test matters
Gas is the unit that measures computational work on Ethereum, and the gas limit caps how much work can fit in each block. A higher gas limit means more transactions per block, which can reduce congestion and fees, but it also increases the load on the computers that run the network.
Testing at 200 million gas, against roughly 60 million previously, is a significant step up. It does not mean mainnet will adopt that figure immediately. Testnets are used to push limits and find problems, and mainnet changes to the gas limit are adopted gradually as validators signal readiness.
The real question is whether node operators, including home stakers with modest hardware, can keep up with larger blocks. Ethereum's design values decentralisation, so capacity increases must not price out smaller participants. Changes in Glamsterdam that make blocks easier to process are intended to make higher limits safe.
A 200 million gas test on Sepolia is a statement of intent: Ethereum wants its base layer to carry far more activity without losing its decentralisation.
Fees are the practical measure users notice. When demand for block space exceeds supply, fees rise as users compete to have transactions included. Raising capacity on the base layer, alongside cheaper data for layer two networks, is intended to keep fees manageable even as activity grows from stablecoins, tokenised assets and decentralised applications.
Why ether fell anyway
Ether's 6.77 percent weekly decline reflected the macro environment rather than anything about Glamsterdam. Bitcoin also fell, ending the week down 2.81 percent at about 82,123 dollars after touching near 80,300 on Thursday. Spot bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of 484.9 million dollars on 7 October, the largest single-day outflow since June.
The drivers were familiar: oil around 100 dollars a barrel, a Federal Reserve that resumed hiking in September, and geopolitical tension in the Middle East. Crypto assets have traded increasingly in line with other risk assets, and ether tends to move more than bitcoin in both directions.
Upcoming data adds to the uncertainty. US inflation figures due on 14 October could shift expectations for further rate rises, which matters for crypto prices, as we explained in our CPI preview. Network upgrades rarely override macro forces in the short term.
- Glamsterdam: activated on Sepolia testnet on 6 October 2026.
- Testnet gas limit: 200 million, versus roughly 60 million previously.
- Mainnet date: not yet confirmed.
- Ether: about 2,488 dollars on 9 October, down 6.77 percent on the week.
- Bitmine: 6,016,414 ETH held, about 4.9 percent of supply, with 5,067,309 staked.
The institutional bid for ether
Long-term holders have kept accumulating. Bitmine, a company that holds ether as a treasury asset, added 15,112 ETH during the week, bringing its holdings to 6,016,414 ETH, about 4.9 percent of supply, with 5,067,309 ETH staked, according to crypto.news. Corporate treasuries holding large amounts of ether have become a meaningful source of demand.
Staking is a key part of that thesis. Staked ether earns rewards for helping secure the network, giving holders a yield. The IRS issued guidance on 6 October allowing eligible investment and grantor trusts to stake proof-of-stake assets without losing their tax classification, a change that could make staking more common inside ether investment products, as we covered in our report on the IRS staking guidance.
Upgrades like Glamsterdam support the long-term case for those holders. A faster, cheaper and more capable network can host more applications, from payments and stablecoins to tokenised assets, which in turn supports demand for ether as the network's native asset.
What Glamsterdam means for users and developers
For everyday users, the most visible benefit of greater capacity would be lower and more stable fees during busy periods. For developers, more block space and faster processing make it possible to build applications that were previously too expensive to run directly on Ethereum's base layer.
Layer two networks, which batch transactions and settle them on Ethereum, also benefit from data availability improvements. Cheaper and more abundant data space for these networks can reduce their costs, which flows through to users of popular layer two platforms.
For institutions building on Ethereum, such as tokenised fund issuers and stablecoin operators, predictable capacity and fees matter. Tokenisation projects by banks and asset managers increasingly use Ethereum or networks connected to it, and network upgrades are part of their infrastructure planning.
Stablecoins are a large part of that activity. Much of the dollar stablecoin supply circulates on Ethereum and networks connected to it, and payment companies building stablecoin products depend on reliable, affordable settlement. Capacity upgrades directly affect the cost of moving stablecoins, which matters for remittances and merchant payments in Asia.
The road to mainnet
Sepolia is one step in a longer process. Ethereum upgrades typically move through developer test networks, then public testnets, before client teams publish final software releases and a mainnet activation date is set. Each step is designed to catch bugs before real value is at risk.
Developers will watch Sepolia closely for issues with the new features and with the higher gas limit. If testing goes smoothly, a mainnet date could be scheduled. If problems emerge, fixes and further testing would push the timeline back. Ethereum's history includes upgrades delayed by testnet issues, so caution is warranted.
For traders, the practical point is that upgrades are known in advance and rarely produce sudden price moves on activation day. Market attention will focus more on macro data, ETF flows and broader risk appetite in the weeks ahead.
What is Ethereum's Glamsterdam upgrade?
Glamsterdam is Ethereum's next network upgrade, combining execution and consensus layer changes aimed at a faster, higher-capacity network. CoinDesk reported it covers account abstraction enhancements and data availability optimisations.
When did Glamsterdam go live on testnet?
Glamsterdam activated on the Sepolia testnet on 6 October 2026.
When will Glamsterdam launch on mainnet?
No mainnet date has been confirmed. It depends on how testing progresses on Sepolia and other test networks.
What does the 200 million gas test mean?
Testing used a 200 million gas limit versus roughly 60 million previously, showing developers want to raise base layer capacity. Mainnet limits are raised gradually as validators signal readiness.
Why did ether fall after the upgrade test?
Ether fell 6.77 percent on the week to about 2,488 dollars because of macro pressures, including oil prices, rate expectations and geopolitical tension, rather than the upgrade itself.
How much ether does Bitmine hold?
Bitmine held 6,016,414 ETH after adding 15,112 during the week, about 4.9 percent of supply, with 5,067,309 ETH staked.
Will Glamsterdam lower Ethereum fees?
Higher capacity and data availability improvements are intended to help keep fees lower during busy periods, but the effect depends on demand and on how gas limits are raised on mainnet over time.
Glamsterdam's arrival on Sepolia is a meaningful technical milestone for Ethereum, signalling a push to expand base layer capacity while keeping the network decentralised. Ether's weak week shows that macro forces still dominate short-term prices. For long-term holders, institutions and developers, the upgrade path matters more than any single week, and the next steps on testnets will decide when Glamsterdam reaches mainnet.
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