Ethereum's 2026 Scaling Roadmap: Glamsterdam, PeerDAS, and 10,000 TPS
Engineering Team
Ethereum’s Scaling Strategy in 2026
Ethereum’s scaling approach is a rollup-centric roadmap: the base layer (L1) optimizes for security, decentralization, and data availability, while Layer 2 rollups handle execution at high throughput and low cost. The 2026 upgrades — Glamsterdam in H1 and Hegota in H2 — push this strategy toward a combined throughput target of 10,000 TPS across the ecosystem.
Pectra Recap: The Foundation (March 2025)
Before looking ahead, it is essential to understand what Pectra delivered, as the 2026 upgrades build directly on its foundations.
EIP-7702: Account Abstraction for EOAs
The single most impactful change in Pectra was EIP-7702, which allows Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) — standard MetaMask-style wallets — to temporarily delegate to smart contract code within a single transaction. This enables:
- Batch transactions — approve and swap in one tx
- Gas sponsorship — dApps pay gas on behalf of users
- Custom validation logic — multisig, passkey authentication, spending limits
- Session keys — time-limited permissions for gaming and DeFi
Unlike ERC-4337 (which requires a separate smart contract wallet), EIP-7702 upgrades existing EOAs in-place. Users keep their address, their history, and their token balances while gaining smart account capabilities.
EIP-7251: MaxEB Increase
EIP-7251 raised the maximum effective balance for validators from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH. This allows large staking operators to consolidate validators, reducing the total validator count and easing the consensus layer’s overhead. Lido, Coinbase, and other institutional stakers began consolidating immediately after Pectra.
EIP-7691: Blob Throughput Increase
EIP-7691 doubled the blob target from 3 to 6 blobs per block and raised the maximum from 6 to 9. Blobs are the data containers used by L2 rollups to post transaction data to Ethereum. More blobs mean more L2 throughput at lower cost.
The impact was immediate: L2 transaction fees dropped by 40-60% within the first week after Pectra activation.
Glamsterdam: H1 2026
Glamsterdam is Ethereum’s next hard fork, scheduled for the first half of 2026. It combines execution layer improvements (the “Amsterdam” component) with consensus layer changes (the “Glam” component).
Higher Gas Limits
The Ethereum community has been gradually increasing the L1 gas limit through validator coordination. Post-Glamsterdam, the target gas limit is expected to reach 60 million gas (up from 30 million pre-Pectra). This is not a hard fork change per se — validators set the gas limit — but the protocol changes in Glamsterdam are designed to safely accommodate higher limits.
Key enablers:
- State expiry preparation — Glamsterdam introduces state expiry metadata that will allow the network to prune historical state, preventing the state bloat that higher gas limits would otherwise cause
- Improved block propagation — Optimized block encoding and propagation protocols reduce the time validators need to process and distribute blocks
- Witness size reduction — Verkle tree preparation (pre-Glamsterdam groundwork) reduces the data validators need to verify block validity
Blob Scaling Phase 2
Glamsterdam targets 8 blobs per block as the new target (up from 6 post-Pectra) and 16 as the maximum. Combined with PeerDAS (see below), this represents a 4x increase in data availability bandwidth compared to pre-Pectra Ethereum.
For L2 rollups, this translates directly to cheaper calldata posting:
Pre-Pectra: 3 blobs target → ~375 KB/block → ~31 KB/s data throughput
Post-Pectra: 6 blobs target → ~750 KB/block → ~62 KB/s data throughput
Glamsterdam: 8 blobs target → ~1 MB/block → ~83 KB/s data throughput
Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS)
Currently, Ethereum’s block building process relies on MEV-Boost, an out-of-protocol sidecar that connects validators (proposers) with block builders. This works but introduces trust assumptions and centralization risks.
Glamsterdam enshrines PBS directly into the consensus protocol:
- Builders submit bids to the beacon chain, not to an external relay
- Proposers select the highest bid using protocol-enforced rules
- Payment is guaranteed by the protocol (no relay trust required)
- Censorship resistance improves because the protocol can enforce inclusion lists
For developers, ePBS means:
- More predictable block building behavior
- Reduced MEV extraction variance
- Foundation for future inclusion list mechanisms (anti-censorship)
Hegota: H2 2026
Hegota is the planned second hard fork of 2026, targeting the second half of the year. It is more ambitious than Glamsterdam, introducing foundational changes to how Ethereum processes transactions.
Native Account Abstraction
While EIP-7702 (Pectra) enabled temporary smart account delegation, Hegota aims to make account abstraction a first-class protocol feature. The key proposals under consideration:
- Native gas abstraction — any token can pay for gas, not just ETH. The protocol converts at market rates via an enshrined oracle.
- Native bundler integration — UserOperations (from ERC-4337) become native transaction types, eliminating the need for separate bundler infrastructure.
- EOA deprecation path — New accounts are smart accounts by default. Existing EOAs continue to work but are encouraged to migrate.
Parallel Execution
Today, Ethereum processes transactions sequentially — each transaction executes one after another within a block. Hegota introduces optimistic parallel execution:
- The block builder identifies transactions that access non-overlapping state
- These transactions execute in parallel across multiple threads
- If a conflict is detected (two transactions touching the same storage slot), the block builder falls back to sequential execution for those specific transactions
- The state root is computed after all parallel and sequential execution completes
Estimated throughput improvement: 3-5x for L1 execution, depending on the degree of state access overlap in a given block.
// Parallel execution example:
// Tx A: transfer USDC from Alice to Bob (touches USDC storage slots)
// Tx B: swap WETH for DAI on Uniswap (touches Uniswap + WETH + DAI slots)
// Tx C: mint an NFT (touches NFT contract storage)
//
// These three transactions access non-overlapping state → execute in parallel
//
// Tx D: transfer USDC from Charlie to Dave (touches USDC storage slots)
// Tx D conflicts with Tx A → executes sequentially after Tx A
Post-Quantum Preparation
Hegota introduces the first concrete steps toward quantum-resistant cryptography:
- Hash-based signature verification precompile (SPHINCS+ or similar)
- Lattice-based KZG alternative research integration
- Account migration tooling — contracts that allow users to register a post-quantum public key alongside their existing ECDSA key
This does not mean Ethereum becomes quantum-resistant overnight. It means the tooling exists for early adopters to protect high-value accounts before quantum computers become a practical threat.
PeerDAS: Data Availability Sampling
PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling) is perhaps the most important mid-term scaling technology for Ethereum. It changes how the network verifies data availability — from “every node downloads every blob” to “each node samples a small portion and the network collectively guarantees availability.”
How PeerDAS Works
- Blob data is erasure-coded — Each blob is extended using Reed-Solomon coding, creating redundancy. Even if 50% of the data is lost, the full blob can be reconstructed.
- Data is distributed across columns — The extended data is divided into 128 columns. Each node is responsible for storing and serving a subset of columns.
- Nodes sample randomly — To verify that a blob is available, a node requests a small number of random columns from the network. If all requests succeed, the node is statistically confident (with overwhelming probability) that the full data is available.
- No single node stores everything — The storage burden is distributed across the network, enabling much higher total data throughput.
PeerDAS Impact on Throughput
| Phase | Blob Target | Data Throughput | L2 TPS (estimated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Pectra | 3/block | ~31 KB/s | ~500 |
| Post-Pectra (EIP-7691) | 6/block | ~62 KB/s | ~1,000 |
| Glamsterdam | 8/block | ~83 KB/s | ~1,500 |
| PeerDAS Phase 1 | 32/block | ~330 KB/s | ~5,000 |
| PeerDAS Phase 2 | 64+/block | ~660 KB/s | ~10,000 |
PeerDAS Phase 1 is expected to ship alongside or shortly after Glamsterdam. Phase 2, which requires full Danksharding, is on the 2027 roadmap.
The L2 Ecosystem After Pectra
Pectra’s blob increase and EIP-7702 have already transformed the L2 landscape:
Near-Zero Fees
With 6 blob targets, L2 transaction fees have dropped to:
- Arbitrum: $0.001 - $0.01 per transaction
- Base: $0.001 - $0.005 per transaction
- Optimism: $0.002 - $0.01 per transaction
- zkSync Era: $0.005 - $0.02 per transaction
These fees are competitive with centralized payment processors and are low enough to enable use cases previously impossible on Ethereum: micropayments, gaming transactions, social media tipping, IoT data settlement.
L2 Adoption Metrics (March 2026)
- Combined L2 TVL: $85 billion (up from $40B pre-Pectra)
- Daily L2 transactions: 45 million (exceeding Visa’s daily average)
- Active L2 addresses: 12 million monthly
- L2 dominance: 92% of all Ethereum ecosystem transactions now execute on L2s
The Base and Arbitrum Duopoly
Base (Coinbase) and Arbitrum have emerged as the dominant general-purpose L2s, capturing ~65% of L2 transaction volume between them. Base benefits from Coinbase’s distribution (wallet integration, onboarding), while Arbitrum leads in DeFi TVL and developer tooling (Stylus for Rust/C++ smart contracts).
Timeline Comparison
| Upgrade | Target Date | Key Features | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pectra | March 2025 (live) | EIP-7702 (AA), EIP-7251 (MaxEB), EIP-7691 (blobs) | Foundation for AA + L2 scaling |
| Glamsterdam | H1 2026 | Higher gas limits, 8+ blobs, ePBS | 2x L1 throughput, cheaper L2 data |
| PeerDAS Phase 1 | H1-H2 2026 | Data availability sampling, 32 blob target | 5x data throughput |
| Hegota | H2 2026 | Native AA, parallel execution, PQ prep | 3-5x L1 execution, future-proofing |
| Full Danksharding | 2027+ | PeerDAS Phase 2, 64+ blobs | 10,000+ combined TPS |
What This Means for Developers
If you are building on Ethereum in 2026, here is what to focus on:
- Adopt EIP-7702 now — Smart account flows are the new standard UX. Users expect batch transactions and gas sponsorship.
- Build L2-first — Deploy on Base, Arbitrum, or Optimism for user-facing applications. Use L1 only for high-value settlement.
- Plan for PeerDAS — When blob throughput increases 5x, your L2 costs will drop proportionally. Design your data architecture to take advantage.
- Watch ePBS — If you run MEV strategies or block building infrastructure, Glamsterdam’s ePBS will change your operational model.
- Start post-quantum planning — If you custody significant value, begin researching Hegota’s quantum-resistant signature options.
Frequently Asked Questions
When exactly is Glamsterdam launching?
The Ethereum core developers have targeted H1 2026 for Glamsterdam. Based on historical upgrade timelines (Pectra shipped in March 2025 after a 2-month delay), a realistic estimate is Q2 2026 (April-June).
Will Glamsterdam reduce L1 gas fees?
Not directly. Glamsterdam focuses on data availability (blobs) and protocol infrastructure (ePBS). L1 gas fees depend on demand. However, by making L2s even cheaper, Glamsterdam may reduce L1 congestion as more users migrate to L2s.
What is the difference between PeerDAS and Danksharding?
PeerDAS is the networking protocol for data availability sampling. Danksharding is the full vision that includes PeerDAS plus in-protocol blob verification. PeerDAS Phase 1 ships before full Danksharding.
Can Ethereum really reach 10,000 TPS?
The 10,000 TPS target refers to combined L1 + L2 throughput. L1 alone will process ~100-500 TPS after parallel execution. The remaining throughput comes from L2 rollups posting compressed data to L1 via blobs. With PeerDAS Phase 2, the data bandwidth supports 10,000+ TPS across all rollups.
How does Ethereum’s scaling compare to Solana?
Solana achieves ~4,000 actual TPS on a single monolithic chain. Ethereum’s approach distributes execution across many L2s, achieving higher aggregate throughput at the cost of ecosystem fragmentation. The tradeoff is decentralization: Ethereum L1 can run on consumer hardware, while Solana requires high-end servers.