Ethereum developers plan to increase the gas limit on the Hoodi testnet from 60 million to 200 million on October 26, 2026, as part of testing for the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade. The change would increase block capacity by 3.3 times, although developers have not confirmed a date for deploying Glamsterdam on Ethereum’s mainnet.

Toni Wahrstätter, an Ethereum researcher, said Hoodi is expected to be the final testnet to receive Glamsterdam before a possible mainnet launch. The timing of that launch will depend on further testing and a decision by the Ethereum client teams. Testnets serve as rehearsal environments where coordinated protocol changes can be deployed under real network conditions before they are considered for mainnet.

Hoodi is the final testnet before mainnet. With Glamsterdam going live soon, Ethereum will 3.3x its gas limit, from 60M to 200M. From there, 300M feels like a realistic next step. — Toni Wahrstätter ⟠ (@nero_eth) October 18, 2026

Ethereum Gas Limit Increase Scheduled for Hoodi

According to an announcement from the Ethereum Foundation on October 16, Glamsterdam is scheduled to activate on Hoodi on October 26 at 17:42:48 UTC, at epoch 132,352 and slot 4,235,264.

The Hoodi gas limit will be raised to 200 million under the planned upgrade, following a similar increase scheduled for Sepolia. Glamsterdam was activated on Sepolia on October 6. The planned raise continues a series of stepwise increases from Ethereum’s long-standing gas limit of 30 million, a ceiling that held for years before moving higher beginning in 2025.

The Hoodi activation will provide developers with an opportunity to test how the network operates with the higher gas limit and identify potential issues. The schedule for a mainnet implementation will be disclosed after the client teams reach a decision.

How the Higher Gas Limit Could Affect Capacity

Ethereum’s gas limit determines how much computation can be performed within a single block. Each transaction consumes gas according to its computational requirements, so the limit also affects the number and complexity of transactions that can fit into a block. On mainnet, the limit has historically been adjusted by validators signaling a preferred value in the blocks they propose, a mechanism that operates separately from hard-fork upgrades.

Raising the limit from 60 million to 200 million would create room for additional transactions and more complex smart contract operations. However, a higher gas limit does not automatically translate into higher transaction throughput.

Wahrstätter has suggested that 300 million could become a future target following the proposed increase to 200 million. That figure remains a possible subsequent goal and is not part of the Glamsterdam change currently being tested.

Other Scaling Changes in Glamsterdam

Glamsterdam includes several changes in addition to the gas-limit increase. One is the enshrinement of proposer-builder separation, or ePBS, which is intended to separate the proposal and construction of Ethereum blocks. That separation already operates in practice through out-of-protocol middleware such as MEV-boost, which routes block production between specialized builders and validators; enshrinement would move it into Ethereum’s own rules.

The upgrade also includes block-level access lists, designed to identify the state data required by transactions. Other changes involve adjustments to gas pricing intended to better account for execution costs and state growth.

These changes relevant to node infrastructure because larger blocks can create additional demands on the systems that process and store network data. Together, the features form part of Ethereum’s Layer 1 scaling strategy, which seeks to increase capacity while maintaining the network’s operational feasibility.

Hegotá Upgrade Could Follow in 2027

Ethereum’s upgrade plans extend beyond Glamsterdam. The next planned upgrade, Hegotá, is expected to follow in 2027.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has said Hegotá could be the final fork based on normal cryptography. Subsequent upgrades are expected to focus on advanced cryptography, formal verification, consensus, and quantum resistance.

The cryptographic world computer: My attempt to express in somewhat concise terms the true meaning of basically everything planned to happen to Ethereum starting from the fork after Hegota. It's really not just a blockchain anymore. It's a hybrid… — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 27, 2026

Wahrstätter said developers are considering 23 Ethereum Improvement Proposals for Hegotá. Among the proposals are FOCIL and Frame Transactions, although their eventual adoption will depend on development considerations.

Buterin has also mentioned PeerDAS as a solution intended to help nodes verify data availability without downloading data from every block.

Gas Limit Remains a Key Glamsterdam Milestone

The increase in Ethereum’s gas limit is one of Glamsterdam’s central scaling objectives. Moving to 200 million is intended to create capacity for more transactions, while the other changes will address block construction, transaction execution, access to state data, and network resource requirements.

Developers must first complete testing on Hoodi before establishing a mainnet implementation schedule. Although a future increase to 300 million has been discussed, no such change has been confirmed.

The Hoodi test will therefore be an important step in evaluating Glamsterdam’s scaling changes. Hegotá is planned to continue Ethereum’s upgrade process in 2027.