Ethereum is preparing to test a much higher 200 million gas limit on the Sepolia testnet as part of the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade.
The new limit is more than three times Sepolia’s previous level of around 60 million gas. The test will allow developers to see how validators handle larger blocks before deciding whether a similar increase could eventually be used on Ethereum mainnet.
Prysm released version 7.2.1 on Oct. 5 with Sepolia’s new gas limit schedule built into the client. Once Glamsterdam activates on Oct. 6 at 13:53:36 UTC, validators using the new version will automatically propose blocks with the 200 million gas limit.
The previous Prysm 7.2.0 version supported the Sepolia fork but did not include the new gas limit setting. Validators using that version would have remained at 60 million gas unless operators changed their settings manually.
A higher gas limit allows more transactions and computation to fit into each block. This can provide more space during periods of heavy network activity, but it does not automatically mean lower transaction fees. Ethereum fees still depend largely on demand for block space and the type of transactions being processed.
Ethereum’s mainnet moved to a 60 million gas limit in November 2025 after more than 513,000 validators supported the change. Glamsterdam is now testing whether the network can safely handle a much larger capacity.
The upgrade also includes changes to how Ethereum prices certain operations. One major change, EIP-8037, increases the cost of creating permanent state because storing data creates a long-term burden for network nodes. Other changes are also aimed at making gas costs better reflect the resources different operations consume.
Developers are testing these changes together with the higher gas limit to determine whether Ethereum can increase capacity without creating unsustainable state growth or putting too much pressure on validators.
The 200 million gas limit has already been tested on Glamsterdam Devnet 11, which used around 84,000 validators. That private test followed earlier development issues, including problems with network finality and execution clients.
The Sepolia test provides a larger public environment for developers and node operators to examine how the upgrade performs under more realistic conditions.
Importantly, the Sepolia test does not mean Ethereum mainnet is moving to a 200 million gas limit on Oct. 6.
The Oct. 6 activation applies to Sepolia only. Activation dates for Hoodi and Ethereum mainnet have not yet been finalized. Developers will make those decisions after reviewing the results from the ongoing tests.
For now, the main goal is to determine whether Ethereum can safely process much larger blocks while keeping the network stable, efficient, and manageable for validators and node operators.
