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Glamsterdam milestones advance as protocol leadership changes
TL;DR
- The Ethereum Foundation began unstaking 21,270 ETH from Lido, worth nearly $50 million.
- Glamsterdam is expected in the third quarter of 2026 after missing its original June schedule.
- Will Corcoran, Kev Wedderburn and Fredrik were named new Protocol cluster leads.
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The Ethereum Foundation initiated the unstaking of 21,270 ETH from Lido on Monday, worth nearly $50 million, while also advancing major Glamsterdam upgrade milestones and reshuffling leadership across its Protocol cluster.
The ETH withdrawal moves part of the foundation’s staked position out of Lido’s liquid staking protocol and into the withdrawal process. The tokens are set to exit Ethereum’s Beacon Chain, where they had been locked to earn passive yield and support network security. The unstaking does not automatically indicate a planned sale, because Lido withdrawals place staked ETH or wrapped staked ETH into a queue before the holder can claim ETH after finalization.
The latest withdrawal follows an earlier 17,000 ETH unstaking in late April and a subsequent 10,000 ETH OTC sale to Bitmine on May 1. Bitmine was described as the largest corporate ETH holder. The foundation had previously expanded its staked ETH position in 2026, beginning with 2,016 ETH in February, adding 22,517 ETH in March and staking more than 45,000 ETH in early April.
Glamsterdam Targets Higher Ethereum Throughput
The Ethereum Foundation reached several Glamsterdam milestones, including finalizing a 200 million gas limit floor as a “credible post-Glamsterdam target.” Ethereum’s current gas limit is around 60 million. Glamsterdam is expected to go live sometime in the third quarter of 2026 after originally being scheduled for June, with the Ethereum Foundation saying that “the immediate focus is shipping Glamsterdam.”
Glamsterdam is designed to scale Ethereum’s layer-1 chain by reorganizing how the network processes transactions and manages its growing database. The upgrade was described as “fundamentally updating how Ethereum creates and verifies blocks.” Glamsterdam devnets are already live, while scoping for Hegotà, Ethereum’s next major upgrade, is underway. The foundation is also advancing the Strawmap, its quantum-ready roadmap.
The Ethereum Foundation confirmed stabilization of enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation, or ePBS, which lets validators outsource block-building duties to specialized builders while embedding that separation directly into Ethereum’s rules. The change is intended to reduce reliance on external relays and give Ethereum more time to handle larger blocks safely as the network targets heavier layer-1 throughput.
EIP-8037 has also been finalized, introducing smarter pricing for data storage. The proposal increases the cost of state-creation operations to help prevent excessive state growth under higher block gas limits.
Protocol Cluster Gets New Leads
The Ethereum Foundation announced the start of a leadership transition for its Protocol cluster, naming Will Corcoran, Kev Wedderburn and a developer identified only as Fredrik as the new leads. Ethereum developers Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko are leaving the foundation, while Alex Stokes is going on sabbatical.
Will Corcoran said on X, “There’s a new chapter starting for the Protocol cluster. We’re welcoming new leads and coordinators, and continuing our work toward Glamsterdam, Hegotà, and the Strawmap.”
Barnabé Monnot said, “Making Ethereum’s unique features more available to users today is on my mind; so is participating in the plurality of ways that Ethereum gets built.”
The treasury move follows the foundation’s June 2025 treasury policy update, which said greater staking participation would help fund protocol development while also stating plans to limit ETH sales after previous community backlash. Arkham said the unstaking may have been driven by the foundation’s need for funds to continue network development and speculated that it may relate to broader concerns over third-party protocol security after the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit.
FAQ
What did the Ethereum Foundation unstake?
The foundation began unstaking 21,270 ETH from Lido, worth nearly $50 million.
Does the unstaking confirm an ETH sale?
No. Lido withdrawals enter a queue before ETH can be claimed.
When is Glamsterdam expected?
Glamsterdam is expected sometime in the third quarter of 2026.
Who are the new Protocol cluster leads?
Will Corcoran, Kev Wedderburn and Fredrik were named new leads.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
