With testnets rolling out and core developers racing the clock, Ethereum prepares for a major double upgrade cycle aimed at scalability and user experience.
Ethereum is heading into a high stakes second half of the year as its development community prepares for the next major protocol upgrade, Fusaka, tentatively set for launch in early November. The upgrade aims to boost the network’s scalability, efficiency, and resilience, setting the stage for even more ambitious changes in the upcoming Glamsterdam hard fork scheduled for 2026.
Fusaka Moves Into Final Stages
The Fusaka hard fork will introduce 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), including EIP 7825, which targets greater resistance to malicious network activity and improved scalability. The upgrade is also expected to raise Ethereum’s gas limit to 150 million, a significant leap aimed at handling more transactions per block.
The next Fusaka devnet is slated to go live this Wednesday. Public testnets are scheduled to follow in late September and October, leading up to a mainnet release just ahead of Devconnect 2025, which kicks off November 17 in Buenos Aires.
However, some proposals have been cut from the final list to keep development on track. EIP 7907, which would have increased contract code size limits and introduced gas metering, has been excluded to speed up testing. Similarly, the long anticipated EVM Object Format upgrade has been deferred once again.
Ethereum protocol support contributor Nixo voiced urgency in a recent post on X:
“If we want to ship by Devconnect, we need our timeline TIGHT. Can we get client releases in the next month and a half?”
Glamsterdam Already in Planning
Even as Fusaka development ramps up, Ethereum core developers are looking ahead to the Glamsterdam hard fork. While details are still being finalized, early proposals could drastically reshape the network, including a plan to cut Ethereum’s current 12 second block time in half. Ethereum researcher Barnabe Monnot argued that a 6 second block time could significantly improve DeFi app performance and reduce user friction.
Final decisions on which features will make it into Glamsterdam are expected during the AllCoreDevs Execution call on August 1.
Gas Limit Debate Heats Up
Ethereum’s gas limit remains a hot topic in the community. While Fusaka aims for 150 million, a separate validator led proposal seeks to raise it more modestly to 45 million. Ethereum co founder Vitalik Buterin confirmed on X that the proposal has already received strong validator support, with nearly 50 percent of staked ETH voting in favor.
