Ethereum Glamsterdam: The Most Ambitious Upgrade Since The Merge — What You Need to Know

On April 1, 2026, the cryptocurrency world finds itself at an interesting crossroads. As Bitcoin consolidates above $68,000 and the US-Israel-Iran conflict continues to weigh on risk assets, Ethereum is quietly preparing its most significant network upgrade since transitioning to proof-of-stake. Glamsterdam, the upcoming hard fork, is scheduled for the first half of 2026 and could radically transform the network’s performance.

A 10x Technological Leap in Capacity

Glamsterdam is not a simple maintenance update. According to the eight Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) outlined by Vitalik Buterin in February 2026, the hard fork targets a roughly tenfold increase in throughput. The gas limit per block would rise from 60 million to 200 million units, enabling the network to target 10,000 transactions per second, compared to roughly 1,000 TPS on the base layer today.

Concretely, this evolution would place Ethereum at the same throughput level as high-performance blockchains like Solana, while retaining the advantages of a decentralized and secure network. Transaction fees, which remain Ethereum’s persistent pain point for everyday users, are expected to drop by 78.6%.

EIP-7732: The End of Dependence on External Relays

The most significant technical change in Glamsterdam is EIP-7732, called Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS). Today, Ethereum’s block production relies on external relays operated by companies like Flashbots. Validators propose blocks, but the actual decision on which transactions to include and in what order falls to third-party software operating off-chain.

This architecture works, but it concentrates power in the hands of a few relay operators and creates a dependency on these trusted intermediaries. EIP-7732 integrates this entire process directly into the Ethereum protocol. The proposer and builder roles become formally separated at the consensus layer, with the builder providing a block header and the proposer committing to the content.

For ordinary users, the most tangible benefit concerns MEV (Maximal Extractable Value), the profits that block builders extract by reordering, inserting, or front-running transactions. If you’ve ever seen a DEX trade execute at a worse price than expected, or watched a liquidation get front-run on Aave or Compound, you’ve experienced MEV firsthand. Researchers estimate that ePBS could reduce MEV extraction by up to 70%, translating to fairer execution for anyone trading, borrowing, or providing liquidity on Ethereum’s base layer.

EIP-7928: The Shift to Parallel Transaction Processing

The second major change is the introduction of Block-Level Access Lists (BALs) via EIP-7928. Currently, Ethereum processes transactions sequentially, like a single-core computer working through a task list. BALs allow pre-declaring the accounts and smart contracts each block will interact with.

When the network knows in advance that two transactions touch completely different parts of the state (say, a Uniswap swap and an Aave deposit into a separate pool), it can process them simultaneously rather than waiting for one to finish before starting the other. This is the transition from a single-lane road to a multi-lane highway. The combination of the gas limit increase and BAL intelligence enables this spectacular throughput jump.

30% of Supply in Staking: A Structurally Bullish Factor

Beyond technical developments, Ethereum presents remarkable market fundamentals in April 2026. Approximately 37 million ETH — representing 30.6% of the circulating supply — is now locked in staking, a historically high level. Over 3 million more ETH await in the validator entry queue.

This structural scarcity of available ETH on the market creates upward pressure not reflected in the current price. ETH trades around $1,920 as we write these lines, down more than 45% from its October 2025 high above $3,600. This disconnect between the network’s growing technical fundamentals and a depressing price is precisely the kind of gap that savvy traders seek to understand before the market reprices it.

BlackRock and the Rise of Institutional Products

Asset manager BlackRock continues to play a transformative role in the Ethereum ecosystem. Its spot Ethereum ETF, ETHA, holds approximately $11 billion in ETH. More significantly: BlackRock has filed for ETHB, a staked Ethereum ETF that would distribute staking yield to shareholders. The SEC is expected to rule by late March 2026.

If this approval materializes, it would create massive additional demand for staking ETH, further consolidating scarcity and institutionalizing staking yield as a traditional financial product. The connection between Ethereum and mainstream investment products is normalizing in a way that would have seemed implausible just two years ago.

The Macro Context: The Iranian Conflict Weighs on Sentiment

It would be incomplete to discuss Ethereum without mentioning the current macro environment. The US-Israel-Iran conflict and Washington’s concerns over the Strait of Hormuz have sent shockwaves through every major risk asset class, and cryptocurrencies have been no exception. When US airstrikes made headlines, Bitcoin dropped nearly 12% in 48 hours, briefly falling below $60,000 before recovering. Ethereum, with its higher beta relative to Bitcoin, suffered even deeper percentage losses, with leveraged positions wiped out across DeFi protocols.

But this dynamic also highlighted a structural reality: 24/7 crypto markets have proven their worth precisely when traditional exchanges are closed. When major geopolitical news broke on a weekend, decentralized platforms processed hundreds of millions in volume, allowing investors to react in real time.

What Strategy for April 2026?

For investors and traders watching Ethereum at the start of April 2026, several elements merit attention. The price level to watch is the support zone between $1,800 and $2,000. A breakout above $2,200 with volume could bring bullish momentum back quickly, especially as Glamsterdam deployment approaches.

The bullish catalysts to watch are threefold: potential approval of BlackRock’s staked Ethereum ETF, acceleration of Devnet-5 work with a confirmed Glamsterdam deployment date, and a geopolitical ceasefire in the Middle East that would allow risk assets to catch their breath.

Conversely, a delay in Glamsterdam’s timeline, deteriorating macro conditions, or further escalation in the Middle Eastern conflict could keep ETH under pressure. The market has historically tended to anticipate technical upgrades several months before deployment, meaning May and June could see significant repricing if Glamsterdam holds its schedule.

Conclusion

Glamsterdam represents perhaps the most important turning point in Ethereum’s technical history since The Merge. With a 10x capacity increase, a 78% reduction in gas fees, and the elimination of dependency on third-party relays for block building, the network is preparing to solve its three most persistent criticisms in a single package.

ETH’s price may appear disconnected from these improving fundamentals, but it is precisely in these periods of misalignment that opportunities are created. With 30% of supply locked in staking, BlackRock building ETF infrastructure around ETH, and a transformative upgrade on the horizon, Ethereum in April 2026 looks like an asset the market may be underestimating on a medium-term basis. The convergence between technical fundamentals and price should happen eventually — the question is simply when the market will decide to acknowledge it.

Sources: Ethereum Foundation, Crypto.com, Phemex, The Block, Yahoo Finance, BeInCrypto, CoinDesk