Ethereum developers released Prysm 7.2.1 just before the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Sepolia testnet, patching a bug that could have allowed some validators to keep producing blocks under the old gas limit. If left unfixed, part of the network could have continued running at roughly 60 million gas per block, reducing the value of a test designed to measure performance under much larger blocks.
Prysm 7.2.1 was pushed out as an emergency fix
Prysm, one of the main validator clients, published version 7.2.1 late Monday. The previous release had been completed before Sepolia’s configuration change. That meant validators that did not manually update their settings would still follow the 60 million gas cap. Version 7.2.1 automatically raises the maximum block computation level to 200 million gas.
Ethereum developer Shaurya Malwa said the patch was needed because blocks produced under the older cap would dilute the test result. The point of the exercise is to see how the network behaves when block sizes are materially larger.
Sepolia will test block capacity at 200 million gas
On Ethereum, gas is the unit used to measure how much computation a block can process. Raising the limit means a single block can include more transactions and more onchain operations. It also means execution nodes need more computing resources.
Under the new setting, Sepolia will test a jump from about 60 million gas to 200 million gas per block after the Glamsterdam upgrade. Developers want validators to run stably in that environment before deciding what level of capacity is appropriate for Ethereum mainnet.
Glamsterdam includes execution-layer and consensus-layer changes
Glamsterdam is Ethereum’s next major upgrade. It combines the Amsterdam execution layer with the Gloas consensus layer. The core changes named in the report are EIP-7732, which introduces enshrined proposer-builder separation, and EIP-7928, which adds block-level access lists.
Sepolia will be the first test network to deploy those changes.
Node operators on Sepolia need to check their client version
The test applies only to the Sepolia testnet. Ethereum mainnet has not activated the Glamsterdam upgrade. Developers or stakers running local Sepolia nodes are advised to verify that Prysm has been updated to version 7.2.1 or later so their nodes can build blocks under the new gas cap.
The report also said Ethereum has typically raised block capacity in stages, first validating changes on smaller test networks and then deciding mainnet specifications. Sepolia’s 200 million gas test is the latest step in that process.