Ethereum’s Glamsterdam Upgrade Faces Downsizing as Key Features Miss Mid-2026 Deadline
Ethereum developers hit the brakes—again. The network's ambitious Glamsterdam upgrade now faces a trimmed-down release after core components failed to meet the mid-2026 launch window.
Why the Scale-Back?
Multiple high-complexity features—including advanced scalability modules and cross-shard communication protocols—simply weren't ready for prime time. Development timelines stretched, testing revealed bottlenecks, and the team opted for a phased rollout rather than another full delay.
The Pragmatic Pivot
This isn't a retreat—it's a recalibration. By shipping a leaner, functional upgrade by mid-2026, Ethereum maintains momentum while buying time for the heavier lifts. Think of it as building the engine before the leather seats.
What Gets Cut?
Expect the initial release to focus on foundational layer improvements: enhanced validator efficiency, base fee mechanics, and critical security patches. The flashier, experimental components get parked in the next development cycle.
Market Mechanics & The Eternal Optimism Tax
Short-term? Minimal price impact—traders already price in development slippage. Long-term? A streamlined, on-schedule upgrade beats another vaporware promise. Though let's be real—in crypto, every delay just gives hedge funds another quarter to collect management fees on 'patient capital.'
Bottom Line: Ethereum trades some glamour for guaranteed progress. The upgrade ships smaller, but it ships. And in blockchain, shipping beats dreaming every time.
What could happen if Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade misses its deadline?
EIP 7732, known as enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS) Devnet-0, may see its scope reduced or removed from Glamsterdam if the deadline is missed.
This feature is highly anticipated because it aims to reduce manipulation and centralization risks in Ethereum’s maximum extractable value economy.
Developers agreed during the ACDC call to target interoperable implementations by the end of February, but highlighted that it may not happen within the set deadline.
The second major component, EIP-7928 for block-level access lists (BALs), WOULD enable parallel processing capabilities to improve network throughput.
However, implementation work has been hampered by technical challenges across consensus LAYER client teams.
Ethereum Foundation protocol prototyping team lead Toni Wahrstatter reported that an engine API change was impacting consensus layer (CL) client implementations for EIP 7928.
According to Kim, no team has yet achieved a fully working implementation of partial cell proofs, a networking change required to support further blob capacity increases.
More complications came from stress testing conducted by the Ethereum Foundation’s EthPandaOps team in December.
Enrico del Fante, a developer at Consensys working on the Teku client, reported issues that it discovered in the Teku client during the stress test. However, he reportedly stated that his team is still working on mitigating the known issues.
Del Fante requested that the EthPandaOps team pause on further mainnet stress testing while they develop mitigations, and noted that the problems have slowed their work on Glamsterdam.
February deadline looms
Developers have not yet officially acknowledged a mismatch between Glamsterdam’s scope and timeline.
Kim noted that the developers recognized there may be an issue and agreed to address it by the end of February.
While the Nimbus and Lodestar teams have completed this preliminary work, other client teams are still updating their systems, according to developer Etan Kissling of Nimbus.
The delay in Glamsterdam may also affect the Hegota upgrade, which is supposed to come after the successful implementation of Glamsterdam.
Alex Stokes, co-lead of the Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol Coordination team, has encouraged proposal authors to present their ideas at upcoming ACDCs.
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