Ethereum's Glamsterdam Upgrade: Impact on L1 Fees
Published 6/17/2026, 3:13:38 PM
Glamsterdam is Ethereum's next major protocol upgrade, combining the "Gloas" (consensus layer) and "Amsterdam" (execution layer) upgrades. It is scheduled for H2 2026 with a tentative mainnet target of May–June 2026 (the current date is June 17, 2026, meaning deployment is imminent) [Source: https://ethereum.org/en/roadmap/glamsterdam].
Key EIPs Included in Glamsterdam
| EIP | Name | Purpose | Fee Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| EIP-7732 | Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) | Moves block building into the protocol, eliminating trusted relay intermediaries | May reshape priority fee dynamics |
| EIP-7928 | Block-Level Access Lists (BALs) | Enables parallel execution by pre-declaring state dependencies | Enables gas limit increase to 200M |
| EIP-2780 | Reduce intrinsic transaction gas | Reduces overhead in transaction processing | Standard ETH transfers up to 71% cheaper |
| EIP-7783 | State creation gas cost increase | Targets 120 GiB/year state growth rate | Discourages excessive state creation |
| EIP-7976 | Increase calldata floor cost | Affects rollups posting calldata-heavy batches | Higher costs for data-heavy rollup batches |
| EIP-8037 | State creation cost repricing | Raises costs for contracts creating new state | More accurate resource-based pricing |
| EIP-7981 | EIP-2930 access list cost increase | Adjusts costs for access list transactions | Affects access list-heavy transactions |
[Source: https://hackmd.io/@ethnode/glamsterdam]
How Glamsterdam Affects L1 Gas Fees
Glamsterdam creates conditions for lower L1 fees through multiple mechanisms, though actual fee levels remain demand-dependent.
1. Higher Block Capacity via BALs (EIP-7928)
- Enables parallel transaction processing by pre-declaring which accounts and storage slots each transaction will access
- Prepares L1 for a gas limit increase from 60M toward 200M (a 6.7x increase) [Source: https://www.eip.droppingknowledge.ai/]
- More transactions per block distributes base fee pressure, reducing per-transaction costs
2. Reduced Intrinsic Transaction Gas (EIP-2780)
- Breaks down transaction fees to reflect only essential work (signature verification, balance updates)
- Standard ETH transfers between existing accounts could be up to 71% cheaper
- Exception: Transfers to empty/non-existent addresses include a gas surcharge for account creation
3. Gas Repricing & State Sustainability
- Operations with high CPU, storage, or bandwidth impact are priced proportionally to measured resource footprint
- Reduces underpriced execution patterns identified through client benchmarking
- Storage costs scale with contract state footprint, discouraging excessive state growth
4. MEV Restructuring via ePBS (EIP-7732)
- Creates a permissionless, onchain builder market (anyone meeting ETH collateral requirements can participate)
- Builders gain ~7 additional seconds per slot to assemble optimal blocks
- May reshape priority fee dynamics, though the direction of impact remains uncertain
Expected Outcomes for L1 Fees
| Outcome | Mechanism | Expected Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Standard ETH transfers up to 71% cheaper | EIP-2780 intrinsic gas reduction | Significant |
| Per-transaction costs may decrease as capacity grows | BALs → gas limit increase to 200M | Significant |
| More stable gas fees during high-demand periods | Parallel execution reduces bottlenecks | Moderate |
| Improved gas cost predictability for developers | Accurate resource pricing | Moderate |
| Reduced congestion-related fee spikes | Higher throughput via parallel execution | Moderate |
| Higher calldata costs for rollups | EIP-7976 floor cost increase | Negative for L2s |
Important Caveat: Glamsterdam will not cause L1 fees to vanish overnight. Fee reductions depend on network demand, and if L1 usage scales with capacity, base fees may remain stable or rise. The focus is on long-term sustainability, predictability, and efficiency.
Timeline & Current Status
| Milestone | Status |
|---|---|
| Headliner Selection | ✅ Completed (EIP-7732 selected) |
| Specification Freeze | August 21, 2025 deadline |
| Devnet Testing | Active as of late May 2026 |
| ePBS Stability | Confirmed across multiple client setups |
| Mainnet Launch | Target: H2 2026 (May–June 2026 tentative) |
Conclusion
Glamsterdam is expected to reduce L1 fees for standard transactions—particularly ETH transfers (up to 71% cheaper via EIP-2780)—while enabling higher throughput through a gas limit increase toward 200M via BALs (EIP-7928). However, rollups posting calldata may face higher costs (EIP-7976), and overall fee levels will still depend on network demand. The upgrade prioritizes long-term sustainability and predictability over immediate fee elimination.
Suggested next steps:
- Technical analysis: Want me to run a technical analysis on ETH to identify key support/resistance levels ahead of the Glamsterdam upgrade?
- Monitor the upgrade: I can set up a scheduled check-in to track devnet progress and any mainnet activation updates as H2 2026 approaches.