Glamsterdam Forks the World: 10,000 TPS, 70% MEV Cut, and the Yield on L2s Just Went Negat
Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade is moving from devnet to mainnet with a concrete schedule. ePBS, parallel execution, and aggressive gas repricing will rewrite MEV dynamics and slash L1 fees — forcing rollups and builders to adapt or die.
In the year of our algorithm 2026, Ethereum’s core developers are performing a hostile restructuring of the block production supply chain—something akin to the 1890s shipping magnates who realized that controlling the docks was more profitable than owning the ships. The Glamsterdam upgrade, now locked for mainnet on September 16, 2026, is exactly that: a protocol-level seizure of the MEV extraction ports. It now has a hardened devnet track, a public testnet schedule, and a mainnet activation date: September 16, 2026 [^claim_477]. The package—enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS) and Block-Level Access Lists (BALs)—amounts to the most aggressive re‑engineering of Ethereum’s fee and execution layers since The Merge [^claim_472].
Three EIPs pack a triple punch. EIP‑7732 enshrines on‑chain block‑building, slashing MEV by up to 70% and neutering the out‑of‑band builder market [^claim_476]. EIP‑7928 introduces BALs: pre‑declared storage access lists that let execution be split across parallel threads, skyrocketing the gas limit from 60 million to 200 million while targeting 10,000 TPS [^claim_476]. EIP‑7904 reprices opcodes and state operations, projecting a ~78.6% cut in L1 fees [^claim_476]. The numbers are not hand‑wavy; they are the output of Devnet‑7 surviving heavy transaction loads, clearing the path for the final Devnet‑8, now queued for early August [^claim_472].
This isn’t just a scaling tune‑up. ePBS with on‑chain block‑building rewires the flow of order‑flow auctions, PBS relays, and MEV‑boost. Builders who profited from exclusivity deals and latency races will see their edge evaporate as the protocol itself builds blocks—like a dark pool suddenly illuminated by a regulatory floodlight. Searchers, in turn, must adapt to a system where frontrunning and sandwich attacks become structurally harder, which may push extractable value into new forms like cross‑parallel‑lane arbitrage or multi‑block strategies. BALs add a second disruptive dimension: parallelism means smart‑contract interactions that relied on sequential state access can now conflict in unexpected ways, forcing dapp developers and L2 sequencers to rethink state layout and inclusion strategies.
For rollups, the 78.6% fee reduction rewrites their entire cost calculus. A 3.3× gas limit with near‑parallel execution means L1 calldata and blob costs could drop so sharply that the economic moat of soft‑finality L2s narrows to a sliver. Sequencers who bill themselves as “cheaper Ethereum” will suddenly compete against a base layer that processes 10,000 TPS at a fraction of today’s cost—the yield on that cheap trade just went ex-dividend. Meanwhile, the testnet rollout is already concrete: Sepolia forked on August 3, 2026, and Hoodi follows on August 17, giving infrastructure providers barely two weeks to validate their stacks against the new execution environment [^claim_477].
Mainnet activation on September 16, 2026, will be a watershed. The Ethereum that emerges will have lower fees, parallel execution, and a block‑building pipeline that shifts power from extractive MEV actors to the protocol itself—essentially nationalizing the block production industry. Every builder, rollup, and restaking protocol that depends on L1 capacity and inclusion guarantees must now run the numbers because the old stack’s assumptions expire in under six weeks. The interface was cold steel, and it just executed a precision short on the incumbents.
Provenance ledger
6 span-verified · 3 web-cited6 claims below are locked to a verbatim span re-verified against the source. The remaining 3 are web citations: the URL was checked, but the excerpt is the researcher's summary and was not re-derived from the page. Citation markers in the text jump here.
[1] XRP Ledger version 3.3.0 introduces Confidential Transfers for Multi-Purpose Tokens (MPT), allowing balances and payment amounts to be hidden while being verified through zero-knowledge technology, along with Sponsored Fees that let third parties pay XRP transaction fees and account reserves for users. span-verified
“The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has released version 3.3.0, introducing six major protocol upgrades… One of the biggest additions is Confidential Transfers, which allows Multi-Purpose Token (MPT) transactions to hide balances and payment amounts while still being verified through zero-knowledge technology. Another major feature is Sponsored Fees, allowing banks, businesses, or platforms to pay XRP transaction fees and account reserves for users.”[24][24]
eff0d4cd8d4a81277a6fa5efc23f2814304b4e71f670ae1cf5ed20cd92de9603 [2] XRP Ledger 3.3.0 enables Batch Transactions of up to 8 transactions that must all succeed or the entire batch is canceled, and reduces validator memory usage by around 10% to 15%, with all new features gated by an 80% validator-approval threshold that must be maintained for 14 consecutive days before mainnet activation. span-verified
“The upgrade also introduces Batch Transactions, enabling up to eight transactions to settle together. If one transaction fails, the entire batch is canceled, reducing settlement risk for financial institutions… Other changes include Permission Delegation, Dynamic MPT, and infrastructure improvements that reduce validator memory usage by around 10% to 15%... Although the software is available, the new features still require approval from XRPL validators before activation. Each amendment must rec
755d787f4145d29cfefeb85e6660b6a8bf58ffa0c5be821bafa1a85dd70629de [3] Ethereum core developers confirmed that Glamsterdam Devnet-7 sustained heavier transaction loads, and Glamsterdam Devnet-8 is queued for early August as the final devnet before the upgrade moves to public testnets, with the upgrade centered on enshrined proposer‑builder separation (ePBS) and block‑level access lists (BALs) and mainnet activation still targeted for later in 2026. span-verified
“Core developers confirmed that Glamsterdam-Devnet-7 held up under heavier transaction loads, clearing the way for Devnet-8, which is queued for early August and is expected to be the final devnet before the upgrade moves to public testnets… Once it stabilizes, Glamsterdam will progress toward the Sepolia and Hoodi testnet forks, with mainnet activation still targeted for later this year. The upgrade centers on enshrined proposer-builder separation and block-level access lists, changes developer
c9f1be14ace7a1cd87bd7d4b48e6a6c056aecd7fd5902620d54867997d0defda [4] The BTCPay open-source Bitcoin payment processor has a critical vulnerability in versions prior to 2.4.2 that is being actively exploited, allowing attackers to access the operator’s Lightning Daemon node and steal bitcoin, leading to multiple user reports of funds being drained and a developer warning to update servers immediately. web-cited
“Latest Update (August 8): The developers behind the open-source bitcoin payment processor BTCPay are warning users to update their servers due to a critical vulnerability that is currently being ‘actively’ exploited… Numerous users reported on X that they had their funds ‘drained’ by attackers… It is believed that the attackers accessed the… Lightning Daemon (ND) node… through a security flaw present in versions prior to 2.4.2, allowing them to steal bitcoin from the LND node.”[18]
This excerpt was not re-derived from the source page, and may paraphrase or condense it. Check the source before relying on it.
[5] Conflux (CFX) v3.1.0 testnet hardfork is scheduled to activate before epoch 259240000 (estimated August 7, 2026), introducing changes across seven Conflux Improvement Proposals including CIP‑173 for PoS dispute evidence verification and extended stake lock mechanisms, plus a withheld security patch and significant RPC changes, with node operators required to upgrade or risk network incompatibility. span-verified
“Conflux (CFX) has announced the rollout of its v3.1.0 testnet hardfork, scheduled to go live before the network reaches epoch 259240000, estimated on August 7, 2026. The upgrade introduces modifications across seven Conflux Improvement Proposals (CIPs), a security patch withheld until post-activation, and significant RPC changes. Node operators must upgrade their software or risk incompatibility with the network. The most notable technical updates include CIP-173, which addresses Proof-of-Stake
cfd5bd6f20fd9bf84c4641acde6254e86c7906ccf0daf53a39c8a6e4e77f9872 [6] The Coldcard hardware wallet exploit has resulted in confirmed theft of at least 1,719 BTC, with Galaxy Research analysts projecting that total losses will ultimately exceed $130 million as the vulnerability’s full on‑chain footprint is mapped. span-verified
“In a catastrophic failure for physical device security, the ongoing exploit targeting Coldcard hardware wallets has now resulted in the confirmed theft of at least 1,719 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $111 million. Galaxy Research analysts project that the total financial damage will ultimately exceed $130 million as the full scope of the vulnerability is mapped out on-chain.”[30]
a9d0524a020dfde7d3aea9f9b4a5afc9615e5543560ed43f7c066d48ce6b27d7 [7] Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade is targeting an end‑of‑August 2026 mainnet activation and packages EIP‑7732 (enshrined proposer‑builder separation with on‑chain block building and up to 70% MEV reduction), EIP‑7928 (Block‑Level Access Lists enabling parallel execution with a 10,000 TPS target and a gas limit increase from 60 million to 200 million), and EIP‑7904 (gas repricing projected to cut L1 fees by approximately 78.6%). web-cited
“Targeting end of August 2026, it introduces parallel transaction processing, on-chain block-building, and a gas repricing package projected to cut L1 fees by approximately 78.6%… Three headline changes: EIP-7732 (ePBS - block-building on-chain, up to 70% less MEV), EIP-7928 (BALs - parallel execution, 10,000 TPS target), EIP-7904 (gas repricing, ~78.6% fee reduction)… Block-Level Access Lists (BALs)… push the gas limit from 60 million to 200 million, targeting 10,000 transactions per second.”[7
This excerpt was not re-derived from the source page, and may paraphrase or condense it. Check the source before relying on it.
[8] Sepolia has already forked for Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade on August 3, 2026, with a further Hoodi testnet fork scheduled for August 17, 2026, aligning with a published upgrade schedule that lists Devnet‑7 as of July 8, 2026 and a pending mainnet activation on September 16, 2026. web-cited
“|Milestone|Glamsterdam|…|Devnet-7|Jul 8, 2026(+18d)|—|…|Sepolia|Aug 3, 2026(+26d)|…|Hoodi|Aug 17, 2026(+14d)|… Sepolia testnet fork Aug 3, 2026… Hoodi testnet fork Aug 17, 2026… Mainnet activation Sep 16, 2026.”[27]
This excerpt was not re-derived from the source page, and may paraphrase or condense it. Check the source before relying on it.
[9] Humanity Protocol’s $36 million exploit in June was enabled by a compromised employee laptop that contained production keys, including admin hot‑wallet keys and a quorum of multisig owner keys across both chains, and the attack vector was a phishing email with a malicious attachment disguised as a token lockup schedule update allegedly from Bithumb, which installed malware and gave remote access to the machine. span-verified
“Humanity Protocol will refocus its cybersecurity efforts on operational security following a June $36 million exploit that was traced back to a compromised employee laptop… the exploit stemmed from last year’s mainnet launch, when several production keys were inadvertently backed up onto the laptop that was compromised, including admin hot wallet keys and a quorum of multisig owner keys across both chains… the malicious attachment that was delivered through a phishing email… was disguised as a
7e7e60db00a5ed80e11577918c2943d9d0f885f6988d3880c7161f742d9c5773 Sources
- https://coinpedia.org/news/xrp-ledger-3-3-0-upgrade-is-available-with-six-major-features/amp/
- https://www.coingabbar.com/en/crypto-currency-news/ethereum-news-today-eth-devnet-launch-staking-etf-update
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/08/08/situation-is-extremely-bad-bitcoin-braced-for-more-critical-exploits-after-10000-price-per-day-ai-warning/
- https://blockchain.news/news/conflux-v3-1-0-testnet-hardfork-upgrade
- https://blockpulseinsights.com/news/top-10-crypto-news-within-last-24-hours-august-8-2026/
- https://www.ig.com/uk/trading-strategies/what-is-ethereum-glamsterdam-upgrade-eth-investors-guide-260616
- https://eipsinsight.com/upgrade/schedule
- https://cryptonews.net/news/security/33147254/