Prysm released version 7.2.1 on October 5 with a network schedule that sets a 200 million gas limit for Sepolia from the Gloas fork. The release identifies epoch 353024 and gives an activation time of October 6 at 13:53:36 UTC. Validators following the network schedule do not need to set the new value manually.
The change applies to Sepolia, Ethereum’s test network, rather than Ethereum mainnet. It gives client developers and node operators a live environment for observing Gloas behavior under a much higher block gas limit. A gas limit caps the computation that transactions in one block may consume. Raising that ceiling creates room for more execution, but it does not guarantee that demand will fill the space or that every node setup will handle the added load equally well.
Operators can override the scheduled value
Prysm’s release notes specify three ways to use a different value: a validator’s proposer-settings file, the keymanager API, or the --suggested-gas-limit flag. The flag now applies from Gloas onward and overrides the network schedule. Prysm also warns at startup when the flag is active on a network with Gloas scheduled, and when its value exceeds the highest scheduled limit.
That override behavior separates the network default from an operator’s local choice. Anyone testing the scheduled value should first check for old command-line arguments and proposer settings. Otherwise, a validator may keep proposing a locally configured limit while the operator assumes it is following the 200 million schedule.
The release changes more than gas settings
Version 7.2.1 also enables partial data columns by default. Prysm describes this as cell-level dissemination: nodes can send and receive the cells they hold instead of gossiping whole columns. Operators can return to full-column gossip with --disable-partial-data-columns. The older --partial-data-columns flag is deprecated and no longer changes behavior.
Builder configuration receives several changes as well. Proposer-settings files now expect auth_data and builder_pubkeys in 0x-prefixed hexadecimal form rather than base64. The default wait for Gloas builder bids increases from 300 milliseconds to 600 milliseconds, and new validator-client flags cover builder URLs, minimum bids, boost factors and maximum execution payments.
These settings deserve a separate review from the gas-limit schedule. The release notes tell operators testing Gloas builders to update so authentication data is read correctly. They also say builder defaults supplied through flags or a settings file apply only to the current run; restarting without them does not preserve those defaults in the validator database.
What the test can establish
The Sepolia schedule provides a concrete test condition: Prysm validators can propose Gloas blocks with the 200 million default unless an operator overrides it. Results from that environment can reveal client, networking and hardware behavior under the larger ceiling. They cannot by themselves set Ethereum mainnet’s future gas limit. The release is client software for a testnet fork, not a mainnet capacity decision.
Adapted from Prysm Ships Last-Minute 200M Gas Limit Fix Ahead of Ethereum’s Glamsterdam Test.