Ethereum's gas limit is set to jump from roughly 60 million today to around 200 million following the Glamsterdam upgrade, a more than 3x expansion of L1 execution capacity, according to @hasufl. The researcher notes capacity is expected to double again shortly thereafter.
Why it matters
Gas-limit increases are the supply-side lever on Ethereum mainnet block space. Tripling available capacity in a single upgrade, with another 2x lined up behind it, is a structural shift — not a marginal tuning. If network demand does not surge in step, the supply expansion overwhelms the demand curve and fees stay pinned at the bottom of their range.
Hasufl's read is that, absent an equivalent demand shock, mainnet gas fees are likely to remain near zero for the next few years. That is consequential for L1 economics: it pressures sequencer revenue, restarts the EIP-1559 burn conversation, and reframes the L2 value-capture thesis since rollups inherit whatever fee environment the base layer sets.
Market impact
The near-term price action in $ETH is unlikely to be driven by capacity numbers alone, but the directional read for application-layer economics is clear — cheap blockspace favours high-throughput use cases that have been priced out at peak times. Watch for: (1) any signal on the actual Glamsterdam activation epoch, (2) whether L2 sequencer fees re-anchor to L1 in a way that compresses their margins further, and (3) validator revenue mix as fee burn thins out.
What to watch
The number to track is gas utilization post-activation. If blocks fill even at 200M, the second doubling to 400M becomes the binding constraint relief — and the fee outlook shifts.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the Ethereum gas limit changing to after Glamsterdam?
Per @hasufl, the gas limit will rise from roughly 60 million to around 200 million — a more than 3x expansion of L1 execution capacity — with another doubling expected shortly thereafter.
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Why does a higher gas limit matter for Ethereum fees?
Gas limit is the supply-side lever on block space. Tripling available capacity in a single upgrade, with another 2x lined up, overwhelms demand if usage stays flat — pinning fees near zero rather than letting them clear at market-clearing levels.
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How long could Ethereum gas fees stay near zero?
Hasufl frames the low-fee environment as likely to persist for the next few years, conditional on no equivalent surge in network demand following the capacity expansion.
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What does cheap L1 blockspace mean for L2 rollups?
L2 sequencer fees are anchored to L1 costs. If mainnet fees stay pinned near zero, rollups inherit that environment — compressing their margins and sharpening the value-capture question that has hung over the L2 thesis.
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What should investors watch after the Glamsterdam upgrade?
Three signals: (1) the actual activation epoch for the upgrade, (2) gas utilization at the new 200M limit — under-filled blocks confirm the "fees near zero" read, (3) the second capacity doubling and how validator revenue mix shifts as fee burn thins.
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