Ethereum developers released a last-minute Prysm update hours before the Glamsterdam test on October 6, correcting a default setting that could have left some validators producing much smaller blocks than intended on Sepolia.
Version 7.2.1 introduces a default gas limit of 200 million for validators when the upgrade activates, according to Prysm’s release notes. Gas is the unit Ethereum uses to measure the computing work required to process transactions, rather than a fixed number of transactions.
Read More: Ethereum Sets Glamsterdam Sepolia Test for October 6, Flags Attack Risk
Prysm Fix Aligns Validators With Capacity Test
The previous release supported the upgrade, but validators running it would have stayed at a 60 million gas limit unless operators changed the number manually, CoinDesk reported.
Without the update or manual adjustment, affected validators would have proposed smaller blocks, reducing the test’s usefulness in assessing the intended capacity increase.
According to the Ethereum Foundation, Sepolia’s activation is scheduled for 13:53:36 UTC on October 6. It instructed node operators to update both execution and consensus software, including their beacon nodes and validator clients, before the upgrade.
Mainnet Capacity Remains Undecided
The 200 million gas setting is more than three times Sepolia’s previous default. Testing will assess whether validators can reliably handle the additional workload before developers decide what capacity suits Ethereum’s mainnet, CoinDesk reported.
Glamsterdam also introduces block-level access lists, which identify accounts and stored data used within a block. These enable software to read data and validate transactions in parallel, according to the Ethereum Foundation.
Another change brings prosper-builder separation into Ethereum’s protocol, which gives validators more time to check transaction payloads and reduces dependence on trusted intermediaries.
Greater block capacity could ease competition for transaction space, but larger blocks also increase demands on network operators.
The 200 million gas limit applies only to Sepolia, and Glamsterday has not yet activated on Ethereum’s mainnet.
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