Ethereum Tests Glamsterdam at Nearly 200 Million Gas
On Sepolia, Ethereum is testing a much higher block gas limit while developers watch how the Glamsterdam upgrade affects capacity and fees.
Key Takeaways
- Ethereum is testing the Glamsterdam upgrade on Sepolia with a block gas limit of nearly 200 million, more than three times higher than before.
- Most test blocks used 52 million to 92 million gas, well below the new limit.
- A higher gas limit can handle more activity, but it does not automatically mean three times as many transactions.
Ethereum is testing the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Sepolia testnet with a block gas limit that has climbed to nearly 200 million gas per block. That is more than three times the level before the change, while most test blocks still stayed clearly below that new limit.
Sepolia Gets More Room
The upgrade went live on Tuesday on Sepolia, where developers test software with tokens that have no real value before it goes to Ethereum itself. Early Thursday, the block gas limit was around 200 million, compared with about 60 million before that.
Gas refers to the computing power needed to process transactions. On Ethereum's live network, users have to share space when lots of transactions come in at once, which can push fees higher. A higher limit can handle more activity before that pressure builds.
Test Blocks Stay Well Below the Limit
A review of more than 25 consecutive test blocks showed they used about 52 million to 92 million gas per block. That worked out to roughly 26% to 46% of the available space. None of those blocks came close to the full limit, the point where the computers running the network are under the most strain.
The upgrade also changes how much gas certain tasks cost. Because of that, tripling the budget does not automatically mean Ethereum can handle three times as many transactions.
Why This Matters for Ethereum
Ethereum has gradually raised the block gas limit over the past few years to handle more transactions. In November 2025, the limit already moved from 45 million to 60 million gas units, its highest level in four years. For European crypto followers, the test mainly shows that Ethereum is still looking for more capacity without jumping straight to a live change. Developers had previously warned about a possible test attack on Glamsterdam, where free test ether could be abused to disrupt block builders.
