Ethereum's next major network upgrade, Glamsterdam, has been pushed back to the fourth quarter of 2026.

On Aug. 17 (local time), blockchain media outlet CryptoSlate reported that Ethereum developers have launched a new public testnet, Plåtåberget, for Glamsterdam. It also reported they have begun work to narrow the scope of the follow-up upgrade, Hegotá, targeting a 2027 release.

The schedule adjustment is a further delay from plans presented earlier this year. At the time, the Ethereum Foundation expected Glamsterdam in the first half of 2026 and Hegotá in the second half of the same year. Developers only recently brought up the public test environment for Glamsterdam. Plåtåberget will run for several months before expanding validation to the long-running Sepolia and Hoodi testnets.

Unlike existing development networks that ran for short periods, Plåtåberget focuses on verifying upgrade impacts in a relatively stable environment. That is because compatibility issues could arise in some applications during the Glamsterdam rollout.

Attention is already turning to the follow-up upgrade, Hegotá. Ethereum researcher Tony Wárshstetter (토니 바르슈테터) said he is reviewing 66 proposals related to Hegotá as of Aug. 16. He added only some of them are likely to advance through implementation, development networks and testnet stages in time to target a 2027 release.

The timeline is also tight. Under a schedule discussed at an All Core Devs meeting on Aug. 13, developers must narrow down candidates within about 2 weeks. The list of proposals for inclusion, or PFI, is expected to be finalized around Aug. 27, and proposals without a clear driving party are likely to fall in priority. Each client team must submit its preferred list by Sept. 10.

The only item confirmed so far as a core proposal for the consensus layer is FOCIL, or EIP-7805. The proposal aims to reduce cases where some specialized builders intentionally exclude valid transactions by allowing validator committees to require certain transactions be included in blocks. By contrast, EIP-8141, called "frame transaction," remains under review.

Wárshstetter argued that frame transactions should be included along with FOCIL. He said adding EIP-8250, "kid nonce," and EIP-8272, "recent roots," could also reduce privacy applications' reliance on intermediaries. Frame transactions would separate parts of transaction validation and execution and fee payment, making account behavior more flexible.

Scalability-related proposals are also competing for the limited upgrade scope. EIP-8131 and EIP-8279 cover adjustments to pricing mechanisms for transactions and block data, while EIP-8368 addresses cost adjustments tied to state growth. This aligns with a broader push in which Ethereum is considering ways to raise the gas limit to 600 million over the long term. Other candidates include EIP-8198, "quick slot," adjustments to ETH issuance and validator penalties, EVM improvements, and proposals related to zkEVM and quantum resistance.

Ethlabs, an independent Ethereum research lab launched in June, is also weighing in on the Hegotá selection process. Ethlabs presented quick slot as the first step toward building a "faster Ethereum," arguing that reducing slot time could improve transaction finality speed as well as bridges and interoperability.

Ethlabs also expressed support for FOCIL and frame transactions. It defined censorship resistance, or "openness," as a core value of Ethereum and assessed frame as the most promising native account abstraction proposal for layer 1. It added that substantial improvements to frame are needed to ensure accounts operate consistently across chains even on layer 2.

At the same time, Ethlabs stressed that Hegotá should not include too many proposals at once. It said that since Hegotá is likely to be an execution-layer-centered upgrade, a high bar should be applied to additional execution-layer proposals. It also said the consensus layer scope should be narrowed to around FOCIL and quick slot.

It also recommended excluding some items. Ethlabs warned that EIP-8375 could produce unintended side effects. The proposal would burn part of external builders' bid value under the proposer-builder separation structure Ethereum is pursuing, but Ethlabs said it could instead increase the use of bypass payment methods.

EIP-8182 was also assessed as a low priority. The proposal would enable private ETH and ERC-20 transfers, but Ethlabs said it should be addressed in a separate future core upgrade rather than Hegotá because it would be a major change that introduces reliance on zero-knowledge technology.

Ultimately, the key task for Hegotá is not a lack of proposals but selection and focus. Concerns have emerged that even if many items are useful individually, including too many features at once would increase implementation and testing burdens and could push the upgrade schedule back again beyond 2027.