Ethereum 2026: the radical transformation of processing power through Glamsterdam

Ethereum’s path toward scalability marks a decisive milestone in 2026, when the Glamsterdam fork will introduce significantly impactful changes to the entire network architecture. The gas limit will undergo a substantial increase, rising from 60 million to the current 200 million, fundamentally transforming processing speed on the mainnet.

The technical revolution of Glamsterdam: from re-execution to verification

The main turning point concerns the role of validators. A significant portion of them will abandon direct transaction re-execution to adopt a verification model through zero-knowledge proofs (ZK). This shift represents not only a technical optimization but a reimagining of how the network processes data.

With this transition, Ethereum Layer 1 will be on a development path capable of reaching up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) in the coming years, although 2026 will remain a consolidation phase rather than full realization of this target.

L2: from complement to mature ecosystem

Meanwhile, developments on Layer 2 will proceed in parallel with increasing strength. The increase in data blocks—which could reach 72 or more per block—will enable L2 systems to process hundreds of thousands of transactions per second, significantly multiplying overall capacity.

ZKsync has already demonstrated this direction with the Atlas upgrade, which allows funds to stay on the mainnet while transactions occur in a fast execution environment on the elastic chain. This improved user experience represents a turning point for Layer 2 adoption.

Interoperability and privacy: the pillars of 2026

The Ethereum ecosystem is moving toward a designed interoperability model, which will be implemented through the Heze-Bogota fork. This will enable cross-chain operations without friction among various L2s, creating an environment where liquidity and services flow naturally.

Meanwhile, privacy emerges as a central focus of 2026. Initiatives aimed at improving resistance to censorship and transaction confidentiality will be an integral part of this evolution, positioning Ethereum not only as a scalable infrastructure but as a robust and inclusive ecosystem.