Sprint towards 100 million TPS: Ethereum 2026 technical roadmap fully explained, how will the two major forks reshape the blockchain landscape?

Ethereum will迎来 a pivotal year in 2026 to determine its long-term scalability. According to core developers’ plans, the mid-year Glamsterdam hard fork will introduce two major core upgrades: “block access list” and “separation of proposer and builder,” enabling perfect parallel transaction processing. It will also significantly increase the Gas cap from the current 60 million to 200 million.

Meanwhile, approximately 10% of validators are expected to shift from re-executing transactions to verifying zero-knowledge proofs, paving the way for Ethereum mainnet to handle thousands of transactions per second. Later in the year, the Heze-Bogota fork will focus on enhancing the network’s resistance to censorship. These systemic upgrades, along with increased Layer 2 data block targets and the development of interoperability layers, form a grand blueprint for Ethereum’s evolution from a “world computer” to a “global settlement layer.”

(Source: X)

2026: The Decisive Year for Ethereum’s Scalability

While discussions about Layer 2 competition continue, Ethereum’s mainnet is already preparing for a silent but thorough revolution. In 2026, this blockchain, which commands the largest developer mindshare and capital in the blockchain world, will initiate a series of technical upgrades aimed at breaking through performance bottlenecks. Its core goal is clear and ambitious: not only to elevate Layer 1 transaction capacity by an order of magnitude to lay a solid foundation for the vision of 10,000 transactions per second, but also to systematically optimize network architecture, providing more fertile ground for explosive Layer 2 growth, and consolidating its role as a decentralized, secure, and censorship-resistant global settlement layer.

This series of transformations will be achieved through two carefully orchestrated hard forks. The mid-2026 Glamsterdam fork is undoubtedly the highlight, addressing fundamental architectural issues that have long constrained Ethereum’s performance. Imagine Ethereum’s current transaction execution model as all vehicles queuing on a single lane—inefficient. One of Glamsterdam’s core upgrades is to expand this single lane into a multi-lane highway, allowing multiple transactions to be processed simultaneously without conflicts. This is not just parameter tuning but a paradigm shift at the execution layer.

Unlike past upgrades focused on specific features (such as merging towards proof of stake), the 2026 roadmap presents a systematic, multi-layered approach. It covers execution efficiency, consensus mechanisms, data availability, and censorship resistance, demonstrating that after years of research and accumulation, the Ethereum core developer community is entering a phase of large-scale engineering realization of theoretical concepts. For the entire crypto ecosystem, a qualitative leap in Ethereum mainnet performance will directly impact hundreds of Layer 2 networks, decentralized applications, and assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars, with profound significance.

Deep Dive into Glamsterdam: How Two Core Upgrades “Transform the Foundation”

The reason Glamsterdam fork is highly anticipated is because it includes two proposals that fundamentally reshape Ethereum’s processing capacity: block access list and separation of proposer and builder. First, let’s understand the somewhat obscure “block access list.” Defined by EIP-7928, this upgrade essentially equips each block with a pre-drawn “transaction impact map” created by the block producer. This map clearly indicates which accounts and storage slots each transaction will read/write, and the state differences after execution.

The introduction of this “map” brings revolutionary change. It allows network nodes to pre-know all data access paths of transactions, enabling safe parallel processing across multiple CPU cores without worrying about state conflicts caused by sequential execution. Consensys senior blockchain engineer Gabriel Trintinalia explains that this also allows clients to load required data into memory in advance, avoiding the current bottleneck of sequential disk reads. In short, this upgrade optimizes algorithms and data structures to unlock hardware parallel computing potential without significantly increasing hardware requirements, serving as a key enabler for higher TPS and larger block sizes.

Explanation of built-in proposer-builder separation mechanism

Unlike the performance boost from block access lists, the separation of proposer and builder aims to optimize consensus layer processes and incentives, paving the way for more complex validation technologies. Its core design can be broken down into several key points:

Role separation: Completely separates block construction (packing and ordering transactions) from block proposal (submitting the constructed block to the network), with different participants responsible.

Counteracting MEV centralization: Allows professional builders to compete in an open market to construct blocks containing transactions and MEV optimally, reducing validator centralization pressure caused by MEV extraction.

Providing time for ZK verification: Decouples validation from execution, giving validators longer, non-punishable windows to receive and verify zero-knowledge proofs, making ZK-based “zkAttesting” more incentive-compatible.

Protocol integration: Unlike current off-chain solutions like MEV-Boost that achieve about 90% separation, ePBS encodes this directly into the consensus protocol for trustless operation.

Ethereum researcher Ladislaus von Daniels notes that ePBS makes validators more inclined to adopt zero-knowledge proof validation. Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake estimates that after this, about 10% of validators will switch to ZK proof validation, clearing obstacles for further Gas cap increases.

Chain Reaction: From Gas Cap Surge to Layer 2 Evolution

The underlying optimizations of Glamsterdam directly open the floodgates for quantifiable performance improvements in Ethereum mainnet, with Gas cap being the most watched metric. Gas cap determines the total computational work that a single Ethereum block can contain and is a key bottleneck limiting Layer 1 throughput. The current cap has increased from 30 million to 60 million, and in 2026, this figure is expected to multiply several times. Tomasz Stańczak, co-director of the Ethereum Foundation, predicted at the recent Bankless summit that the cap will reach 100 million in the first half of 2026, double to 200 million after ePBS implementation, and possibly hit 300 million by year-end.

However, increasing Gas cap is not just a numbers game. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin offers a more cautious and economically minded perspective. At the end of November, he suggested future growth might be “more targeted and uneven.” For example, one possible approach is to “increase Gas cap by 5x, while also raising Gas costs by 5x for operations with lower efficiency (like storage access, pre-compile calls, large contract calls).” This “dual-track” strategy cleverly incentivizes developers and users to optimize operations, avoiding wasteful use of network resources, and achieving higher, sustainable throughput.

While mainnet expansion continues, Layer 2 evolution will also persist. In 2026, the number of data blocks per Ethereum block is expected to increase significantly, possibly reaching 72 or more. Data blocks are low-cost storage spaces designed for Layer 2 solutions like Rollups, and their increase means Layer 2 can submit more transaction data to the mainnet at lower costs, supporting its goal of processing hundreds of thousands of transactions per second. Additionally, recent upgrades like ZKsync’s Atlas and the planned “Ethereum interoperability layer” hint at a more seamless, efficient, and unified Layer 2 user experience, reducing cross-chain complexity.

Heze-Bogota Fork: Defending Censorship Resistance and Staying True to Crypto Punk Roots

If Glamsterdam’s theme is “efficiency and expansion,” the Heze-Bogota fork expected at the end of 2026 will return to the core values of the crypto world—“censorship resistance.” In the roadmap, some proposals not included in Glamsterdam may be implemented, but the most discussed and considered is “fork inclusion list.”

This proposal does not directly improve performance but aims to strengthen network resilience. It allows multiple validators to require the inclusion of specific transactions that might be subject to censorship by some builders into the upcoming block. Gabriel Trintinalia from Consensys explains: “This is a censorship resistance mechanism. It ensures that as long as at least some honest validators are present… your transaction will eventually be included in a block.” Essentially, it sets up a “safety net” at the protocol level to prevent transactions from being systematically excluded for political or commercial reasons.

This upgrade is motivated by the rise of MEV and specialized block construction, which pose risks of transaction order centralization and censorship. Although ePBS aims to alleviate some pressure, FOCIL provides an additional decentralized safeguard. It reflects the Ethereum community’s commitment to high-performance expansion without losing sight of its role as a decentralized, censorship-resistant public infrastructure. In today’s increasingly complex regulatory environment, reinforcing this feature is strategically vital for maintaining Ethereum’s long-term neutrality and credibility.

The Quiet Revolution of Zero-Knowledge Proofs: A Silent Shift in Validation

Among all upgrades, a less conspicuous but potentially equally profound trend is the infiltration of zero-knowledge proof technology from Layer 2 into the Layer 1 consensus layer. Justin Drake’s prediction that “10% of validators will switch to ZK” reveals a silent revolution in validation methods. Currently, Ethereum validators must re-execute all transactions in a block to verify correctness—a computationally intensive process. Moving to ZK validation means validators only need to verify a proof generated by specialized provers that attests to the correct execution of the block.

This shift will dramatically improve efficiency. Verifying a cryptographic proof is much faster and resource-efficient than re-executing all transactions. It not only supports the capacity to significantly raise Gas caps but also makes the network more hardware-friendly, promoting validator decentralization. Long-term, this sets the stage for Ethereum to potentially transition entirely to a “proof-based” architecture centered on ZK proofs, representing a more disruptive paradigm shift than merely increasing Gas limits.

Of course, this process will be gradual. The 10% penetration rate in 2026 is a cautious and pragmatic start, allowing the network to test stability and economic models in real-world operation. It exemplifies Ethereum’s philosophy of “gradual decentralization” and “conservative evolution”: avoiding radical, irreversible changes, and instead advancing infrastructure step-by-step in a measurable, reversible manner.

Outlook and Impact: How a More Powerful L1 Will Reshape the Crypto Ecosystem

Looking at Ethereum’s 2026 roadmap, a clear evolution from a “monolithic blockchain” to a “modular, specialized settlement and data availability layer” emerges. A higher-throughput, lower-cost (for Rollups), and more censorship-resistant mainnet will profoundly influence the entire crypto ecosystem.

First, for Layer 2: alleviating mainnet bottlenecks and reducing data availability costs will directly lower user transaction fees and increase throughput limits. Enhanced interoperability among Layer 2 solutions will help break current “liquidity islands,” forming a truly unified “Ethereum universe.” Competition may shift from TPS race to developer experience, application-specific optimization, and ecosystem vitality.

Second, for other Layer 1 chains: Ethereum’s comprehensive upgrade will create greater competitive pressure. As Ethereum becomes more agile, its unmatched security, decentralization, and network effects will form a stronger advantage. This may push other chains to focus more on niche markets or pursue more aggressive technological innovations.

Finally, for developers and users: a more powerful and seamless Ethereum base layer will enable more innovative decentralized applications, closer-to-Web2 user experiences, and high-throughput use cases like high-frequency DeFi and on-chain gaming. The 2026 upgrades will not only be technological iterations but also lay a solid foundation for the next decade’s crypto boom.