Ethereum Foundation advances Glamsterdam upgrade, announces new Protocol Cluster leadership

The Ethereum Foundation noted that developers have made significant progress toward Ethereum’s upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade following a recent interoperability event in Svalbard, Norway and also unveiled major leadership changes within its Protocol Cluster team.

In its Protocol Cluster update released Monday, the Foundation said work on the next major Ethereum hard fork accelerated through expanded testing and live devnets. 

Ethereum Foundation prepares for next major upgrade amid leadership changes

Glamsterdam, Ethereum’s next major network upgrade, builds on the Fusaka upgrade introduced in December. The upgrade combines changes to Ethereum’s consensus and execution layers, with a strong focus on improving Layer 1 scalability, efficiency and decentralization.

One of the key features planned for Glamsterdam is Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS). The proposal aims to improve the handling of maximal extractable value (MEV) while allowing validators to outsource block construction more securely and efficiently. 

The upgrade will also introduce Block-Level Access Lists (BALs), which require more advanced state access declarations during block execution. Ethereum developers are also continuing efforts to significantly increase the network’s gas throughput. 

The Foundation said Glamsterdam is designed to support progress toward a 200 million gas floor on Ethereum’s base layer, aided by optimizations tied to ePBS, BALs, and EIP-8037 state repricing.

Testing efforts for Glamsterdam advanced during the recent interoperability event in Norway, where developers also explored early prototypes for future upgrades, including Hegota and native account abstraction features. Multiple Glamsterdam devnets are now active as multi-client testing continues.

The organization also confirmed that protocol contributors Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko are departing the Foundation, while Alex Stokes will take a sabbatical. Their responsibilities will be transitioned to the new Protocol Cluster leads, Will Corcoran, Kev Wedderburn and Fredrik Svantes.

The transition marks the latest phase in a broader restructuring effort within the Ethereum Foundation over the past year. In June, the EF formally established the Protocol Cluster to organize development efforts around Layer 1 scaling, Layer 2 expansion and user experience improvements. The outgoing leadership team played a central role in coordinating the Fusaka upgrade and broader roadmap initiatives.

In February, Tomasz Stańczak, who was appointed co-executive director in 2025, stepped down from the position, with Bastian Aue later named interim co-executive director alongside Hsiao-Wei Wang.

The newly appointed Protocol Cluster leadership team will now oversee development efforts tied to Glamsterdam and continued preparations for Hegota.