Longyearbyen, Svalbard – [Date of Publication] – In a remarkable display of dedication and collaborative spirit, over 100 Ethereum core contributors recently converged above the Arctic Circle, in the remote town of Longyearbyen, Svalbard, for the "Soldøgn Interop." This intensive week-long gathering was dedicated to accelerating the "Glamsterdam" network upgrade, a pivotal step in enhancing Ethereum’s scalability and efficiency. The extraordinary setting, bathed in the midnight sun, mirrored the non-stop, global nature of the Ethereum network itself, as developers worked tirelessly to solidify the blockchain’s future.
By the close of the Soldøgn Interop, the multinational team had successfully achieved its primary objectives, laying critical groundwork for a more robust and performant Ethereum. Key breakthroughs included reaching a consensus on a post-Glamsterdam gas limit floor of 200 million, the successful implementation of stable Enhanced Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) with external builders, and the finalization of repricing numbers for EIP-8037. These advancements collectively represent a significant leap towards increasing Ethereum’s transaction capacity and ensuring its long-term viability as the world’s leading decentralized platform. Beyond Glamsterdam, meaningful progress was also reported on future upgrades, including "Hegotà" features like FOCIL and native account abstraction, promising further innovations on the horizon.
Chronology of an Arctic Breakthrough: A Week of Intense Collaboration
The Soldøgn Interop, a name derived from the Norwegian word for "midnight sun," returned to a highly effective format seen in previous gatherings like Amphora, Edelweiss, and Nyota. Unlike the broader scope of last year’s Berlinterop, Soldøgn focused intensely on a single-track approach, funneling all efforts into multi-client progress for the specific goal of hardening the Glamsterdam upgrade. This concentrated effort was designed to compress months of asynchronous development into a single, highly productive week.
From Monday morning, the atmosphere in Longyearbyen was one of focused urgency. The week kicked off with ambitious targets, particularly for ePBS, aiming for a 4 Execution Layer (EL) x 4 Consensus Layer (CL) Glamsterdam devnet. Initial attempts quickly surfaced a myriad of integration issues, pushing the target to Tuesday. By then, a 4×3 configuration achieved sufficient stability, allowing for stress testing to commence. This iterative cycle of "stress test, expose edge cases, fix, repeat" became the rhythm of the week for ePBS hardening. A crucial Builder API breakout session on Tuesday morning significantly streamlined the specification around validator registration, the bid/header/commitments flow, and the trust model for builder payments. Mid-week debugging efforts precisely pinpointed cross-client edge cases, revealing a universal gap across client implementations regarding execution-request invalidation of beacon requests, which was promptly addressed with a new test suite. By Thursday, CL teams reported stable ePBS, with EL-side bid pathways resolving into Friday. Despite these successes, two points of contention regarding ePBS — whether a request signature should commit to the receiving builder and how to maintain resilience against P2P Sybil-based liveness attacks for a 1 ETH-staked-builder design — remain for future All Core Devs (ACD) discussions. By Friday, the culmination of these efforts saw nearly all clients successfully running together on glamsterdam-devnet-2, with the external builders pipeline thoroughly tested end-to-end.
Concurrently, the Block-Level Access List (BAL) Optimizations track operated on its own dedicated devnets, ensuring that performance benchmarks were not intertwined with consensus-layer stabilization. Each optimization was placed behind its own feature flag, enabling isolated measurement and comparison. The BAL benchmark dashboard and leaderboard proved invaluable, highlighting worst-case scenarios across test suites. This strategic approach allowed teams to focus on improving the slowest paths first, thereby raising the overall gas limit floor for all implementations, not just the fastest.
The Gas Repricings, specifically EIP-8037 which addresses state-creation gas costs, also saw significant evolution throughout the week. Initially, the EIP featured dynamic per-state-byte pricing tied to the block gas limit, a complexity that made testing and benchmarking prohibitively difficult. Early in the week, developers wisely agreed to simplify this by adopting a fixed cost_per_state_byte, with future repricing adjustments to occur at fork boundaries. The accounting model itself underwent several iterations: from mid-execution to end-of-call-frame, then addressing account creation and code deposit costs, and finally resolving complex reservoir refund/refill edge cases. By Thursday, the accounting reverted to an opcode level, with the understanding that the reservoir model held the true complexity. By Friday, the specification stabilized on bal-devnet-6, with the BAL track providing the final repricing numbers. This rapid evolution, from complex design to refined, implementable specification within days, perfectly encapsulated the unparalleled efficiency of the interop format.
This confluence of advancements in ePBS, BAL optimizations, and gas repricings converged on the week’s headline achievement: a credible target of a 200 million post-Glamsterdam gas limit floor. This substantial increase, a direct result of the structured slot time provided by ePBS, the throughput headroom gained from BAL optimizations, and the state-growth management ensured by EIP-8037, marks a significant milestone for Ethereum’s scaling journey.
Supporting Data: Deep Dive into Glamsterdam’s Components and Future Horizons
The Glamsterdam upgrade is a multifaceted effort designed to address several critical scaling challenges facing Ethereum. It focuses on how blocks are constructed and proposed, the operational headroom client implementations have under load, and how state-creation costs scale with increased throughput. The 200 million gas limit floor is not merely an arbitrary number; it is a carefully calculated target, made possible by the synergistic improvements developed during Soldøgn.
Enhanced Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS)
At its core, ePBS aims to decentralize the block-building process and mitigate the risks associated with Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) centralization. By separating the roles of block proposer (validators) and block builder, ePBS fosters a more competitive and censorship-resistant environment. The restructuring of slots with explicit deadlines for block construction, payload reveal, and attestations is crucial. This new structure allocates more dedicated time for execution, thereby increasing the "headroom" necessary to safely raise the gas limit without compromising network stability or increasing the risk of reorgs. The successful multi-client integration on glamsterdam-devnet-2 with external builders is a testament to the viability of this complex architectural shift. While progress was immense, the remaining debates on request signature commitment and builder resilience highlight the ongoing commitment to security and decentralization.
Block-Level Access Lists (BAL) Optimizations (EIP-7928)
The execution layer counterpart to ePBS’s consensus-layer improvements, Block-Level Access Lists, provide clients with crucial foresight into a block’s read/write operations. This upfront information is revolutionary, enabling parallel execution of transactions, batched I/O operations, and parallel state-root computation. In essence, BALs allow Ethereum clients to process blocks far more efficiently, increasing the volume of transactions they can comfortably handle within a given timeframe. The Soldøgn team’s decision to benchmark these optimizations in isolation, using a dedicated dashboard, was a strategic move to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks across all client implementations, ensuring that the benefits are realized uniformly across the network.
Gas Repricings (EIP-8037)
Ethereum’s gas mechanism is fundamental to its operation, serving as a fee for computational resources and a deterrent against network spam. As throughput increases, calibrating gas costs to accurately reflect resource usage becomes paramount. EIP-8037, specifically designed to increase state-creation gas costs, directly tackles the challenge of unbounded state growth that could otherwise accompany a higher gas limit. Without this repricing, a vastly increased gas limit could incentivize excessive state creation, leading to "state bloat" and increased demands on node operators. The decision to move from dynamic to a fixed cost_per_state_byte was a pragmatic one, simplifying testing and implementation while still achieving the goal of responsible state management. This ensures that while transactions become cheaper and more plentiful, the network’s foundational state remains manageable and sustainable.
Other Glamsterdam EIPs and Hardening Efforts
Beyond the core components, Soldøgn addressed a range of other EIPs critical to Glamsterdam:
- EIP-8061 (Exit/Consolidation Churn Increase) was included, reflecting adjustments to validator lifecycle management.
- EIP-8080 (Exits via the Consolidation Queue) was declined, streamlining the validator exit process.
- EIP-8045 (Slashed-Validator Duty Removal) was prudently scoped down to proposer duties within the look-ahead window, focusing on immediate security concerns.
- EIP-7688 (SSZ Stable Containers) remains in scope but was held out of
glamsterdam-devnet-1to allow further work on bounded gossip-message size, critical for network stability. - EIP-8237 (EL/CL Sync Architecture) was deferred in favor of a longer-term "top-up sync" approach, allowing for greater optionality in future forks. In its place, a new EIP is being drafted to normalize Engine API sequencing (
forkchoiceUpdated/newPayload/getPayload), specify a snap-sync initiation handshake, and tighten valid/invalid consistency across API surfaces, ensuring smoother client interactions.
The emphasis on hardening was pervasive throughout the week. Sessions covered advanced fork-choice compliance testing frameworks, the Diamond repository of reproducible CL edge-case scenarios, and buildoor, PandaOps’s external-builder testing tool, which was demonstrated live, subjecting it to immediate attack scenarios suggested by attendees. These rigorous testing environments are essential for ensuring the stability and security of the network post-upgrade.
Beyond Glamsterdam: Glimpses into Hegotà and Future Forks
The interop also dedicated significant time to discussions concerning "Hegotà" and subsequent forks, highlighting Ethereum’s continuous evolution.
- Native Account Abstraction: A proposal-agnostic session explored the requirements for native account abstraction. This feature promises to revolutionize user experience by allowing smart contracts to act as user accounts, enabling features like alternative signature schemes, transaction aggregation and batching, social recovery, gas sponsorship, and flexible nonces. The discussions carefully weighed these desirable features against crucial constraints like public-mempool compatibility, statelessness, and Layer 2 DoS resistance.
- FOCIL (Fast Order Confirmation for Injected Lists): Implementation updates revealed functional early prototypes, with multi-client interop and a dedicated FOCIL devnet identified as immediate next steps. Key design decisions included disabling FOCIL during 2-epoch non-finality (mirroring proposer-boost circuit-breaker behavior) and adopting an index-based bookmark approach for compatibility with frame transactions/EIP-7702. FOCIL is poised to significantly enhance transaction ordering and confirmation mechanisms, improving network responsiveness.
- ETH P2P Track: Looking even further ahead, discussions explored a QUIC-based replacement for libp2p, aiming for privacy-by-default and slot-aware integration. A prototype for erasure-coded broadcast demonstrated impressive speed, simulating propagation ~6 times faster than GossipSub for 2.4 MB payloads, promising a more efficient and resilient peer-to-peer layer.
- Consolidation Deprecation: A strong sentiment emerged within the CL track towards eventually deprecating validator consolidations entirely. The proposal is to declare a final fork supporting them, then mandate exit-then-redeposit afterwards. This radical but cleaner long-term solution aims to manage validator-set state growth and simplify future protocol design.
Why Svalbard? A Symbolic Backdrop
The choice of Longyearbyen, Svalbard, was more than just a logistical convenience; it carried profound symbolic weight. Svalbard is one of the few places globally where individuals, regardless of nationality, can live and work without a visa – a testament to open access, mirroring Ethereum’s own ethos. Crucially, it hosts the Global Seed Vault and the Arctic World Archive, two cold-storage facilities tunneled into the permafrost. These archives safeguard humanity’s most vital data, including a snapshot of Ethereum’s source code, for millennia to come. This physical preservation of foundational data resonated deeply with the developers’ mission to build a resilient, enduring digital infrastructure. Moreover, the late April to August period in Svalbard experiences 24/7 daylight, the "midnight sun," a fitting metaphor for Ethereum’s own continuous, 24/7 uptime, which the core developers fully embraced during their intensive work week.
Official Responses and Process Refinements
The Soldøgn Interop was not solely about code; it was also a vital forum for refining the "All Core Devs" (ACD) process itself. Nixo and Ansgar, the ACDE co-leads, facilitated a session to gather input on improving coordination and decision-making. The discussion affirmed the value of the "headliner construct" for organizing fork development but advocated for loosening the rigidity between EIPs and themes, embracing a "theme + candidate EIP" pattern. The "strawmap," which outlines future fork timelines, was deemed overly canonicalized beyond 2026, with a consensus to soften its year assignments.
A new, clearer four-point EIP SFI (Specification Freeze & Inclusion) definition was put forward: ACDT (All Core Devs – Testing) will signal readiness, with ACDE (All Core Devs – Execution) and ACDC (All Core Devs – Consensus) retaining the final call for inclusion. Furthermore, a new prioritization-ordering process, to be produced after CFI (Call For Inclusion) decisions and reflected in the meta-EIP, will supersede SFI’s previous role in driving devnet inclusion, starting with the Hegotà upgrade. This reflects a more mature and streamlined approach to managing Ethereum’s complex development roadmap.
Important leadership changes within the ACD call coordination were also announced. Alex Stokes will be taking a three-month sabbatical, with Pari stepping in as interim ACDC moderation and Barnabas filling in for ACDT. The leadership structure for these crucial calls now sees Nixo and Ansgar chairing ACDE, Pari as interim ACDC, and Mario, Barnabas, and Danceratopz rotating ACDT moderation. This ensures continuity and robust leadership during a period of intense development.
The success of Soldøgn was also underpinned by the invaluable support infrastructure provided by several Ethereum Foundation (EF) teams. EthPandaOps delivered ethIQ for performance monitoring and a panda MCP server to facilitate agentic workflows. Protocol Support meticulously set up soldogn.xyz as the single source of truth for interop goals, schedules, and notes. Crucially, the EF Digital Studio team was on-site, capturing the entire week on film. The community can eagerly anticipate the very first interop documentary, promising an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the dedication and collaboration that drives Ethereum forward.
Implications for Ethereum’s Future
The achievements at the Soldøgn Interop carry profound implications for the entire Ethereum ecosystem.
For Users: The most direct impact of the 200 million gas limit will be a significant increase in transaction throughput. This means more transactions can be processed per block, leading to potentially lower transaction fees (gas costs) and faster confirmation times, especially during periods of high network activity. This enhanced capacity will improve the user experience for everyone, from casual transactors to active DeFi participants and NFT enthusiasts.
For Developers and DApps: A more scalable Ethereum provides a more robust foundation for decentralized application (DApp) development. Developers will have greater certainty regarding network capacity, enabling them to design more complex and resource-intensive applications without fear of exorbitant gas costs or network congestion. The progress on native account abstraction also signals a future of vastly improved user onboarding and interaction with DApps, making Ethereum more accessible and user-friendly for a mainstream audience.
For the Ethereum Ecosystem and Decentralization: The advancements in ePBS are critical for reinforcing Ethereum’s decentralization and censorship resistance. By separating proposers and builders, the network takes a proactive step against potential MEV centralization, ensuring that no single entity can exert undue influence over transaction ordering or inclusion. The discussions around future enhancements like FOCIL and the deprecation of consolidations further illustrate a long-term vision for a more efficient, streamlined, and truly decentralized blockchain. The commitment to hardening, rigorous testing, and continuous process improvement demonstrated at Soldøgn underscores the core developers’ dedication to maintaining Ethereum’s security and reliability as it scales.
The Value of Interops: Soldøgn once again highlighted the indispensable value of in-person interop gatherings. The ability to swiftly resolve complex specification, implementation, testing, debugging, and design issues in hours rather than weeks is unparalleled. These intense, focused weeks compress what would typically be months of asynchronous progress into a single, highly productive period, accelerating the entire development roadmap.
Next Steps: From Arctic Breakthrough to Global Deployment
With the Soldøgn Interop concluded, the core developers return to their respective teams with a clear mandate: translate the prototypes and agreements forged in the Arctic into production-ready code. The coming weeks will be characterized by heads-down work, focusing on hardening client implementations against the new specifications, finalizing comprehensive test coverage, and merging the numerous draft Pull Requests into the main codebases.
Crucially, the final decisions on critical values, such as the confirmed 200 million gas limit target and the definitive repricing numbers, will be formally made and publicly communicated during upcoming AllCoreDevs calls. These calls serve as the ultimate authority for protocol changes and will be the major topics of discussion in the immediate future. The Ethereum community eagerly awaits these final confirmations, knowing that the intense week above the Arctic Circle has significantly propelled the network closer to its scaled future.
The Soldøgn Interop stands as a powerful testament to the unwavering commitment of Ethereum’s core contributors. Their tireless work under the perpetual daylight of the Arctic Circle, driven by a shared vision for a more scalable and decentralized future, has once again underscored Ethereum’s position at the forefront of blockchain innovation. The community can now look forward to a full short film documenting this historic gathering, a lasting memory of an incredibly productive week that promises to redefine the boundaries of what Ethereum can achieve.