Ethereum Eyes 200M Gas Limit as Aave Pushes $71M Vote and Bitmine Targets 5% Supply

Ethereum News

The Ethereum Foundation has cleared several technical milestones for the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade, including a credible post-upgrade target of a 200 million gas limit floor — more than triple the current ceiling near 60 million. Developers also finalized EIP-8037, which raises the cost of state-creation operations to keep state growth manageable as larger blocks roll out. Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) was stabilized, embedding builder-validator separation into protocol rules with less reliance on external relays. Originally pencilled in for June, Glamsterdam now looks set for the third quarter of 2026, with devnets already live on the public Ethereum blockchain.

The Foundation simultaneously confirmed a leadership reshuffle inside its Protocol cluster, naming Will Corcoran, Kev Wedderburn, and Fredrik as the new triumvirate guiding core development. Long-serving researchers Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko are stepping away, while Alex Stokes will take a sabbatical, marking one of the most significant personnel changes inside the organization in years. The reshuffle arrives alongside continued scoping of Hegotà, the upgrade slated to follow Glamsterdam, and ongoing work on the Strawmap quantum-resistant roadmap. Analysts view the transition as a deliberate generational handover designed to keep Ethereum's research pipeline funded and on schedule through the next two major hard forks.

A binding Arbitrum governance vote has been launched to transfer roughly $71 million in disputed ether — 30,765 ETH — into a wallet controlled by Aave LLC following last month's Kelp DAO exploit. The Constitutional Arbitrum Improvement Proposal implements a recent order from Judge Margaret Garnett authorizing the on-chain move from the Security Council's immobilized address, provided the existing restraining notice remains intact. Even if approved, the funds will sit under tight legal restrictions and cannot be transferred or deployed without further court permission. The vote represents one of the first cases of an on-chain governance mechanism being used to execute a U.S. court directive.

The unusual standoff has pulled crypto governance directly into the U.S. court system. Forensic firms have publicly attributed the Kelp DAO breach to North Korea's Lazarus Group, an attribution cited by lawyers representing families holding roughly $877 million in unpaid terrorism judgments against Pyongyang. Those creditors argue the frozen ether could ultimately satisfy long-standing court awards if the funds are deemed linked to North Korea. Aave counters that the assets belong to the DeFi users harmed in the exploit, not to the attackers who briefly controlled them. The case now functions as a test for how courts will treat DAO-controlled assets.

Treasury firm Bitmine Immersion Technologies has eased its ether buying pace after weeks of aggressive accumulation, picking up 26,659 ETH last week versus the more than 100,000 per week it had been adding. Chairman Tom Lee confirmed the company is still tracking toward holding 5% of ether's 120.7 million circulating supply by year-end, a target now positioned for late 2026 rather than mid-July. Bitmine's holdings have reached 5.21 million ETH alongside total crypto and cash holdings of $13.4 billion. The slowdown comes as ether has drifted between $2,274 and $2,411 over the past week, well below its August 2025 peak.

Bitmine plans to stake its entire ether stash, a position that already exceeds 4.7 million tokens and is projected to generate roughly $352 million in annual rewards once fully deployed. Lee argues the strategy effectively removes available supply from circulation, claiming Bitmine alone has taken 4.3% of ether out of circulation since June 30, 2025, contributing to what he calls a disinflationary supply curve. With over 38 million ETH staked network-wide, validator participation continues climbing even as price action consolidates. The model mirrors corporate bitcoin treasury accumulation but layers in yield, creating a structurally different supply-and-demand picture for the second-largest altcoin by market cap.

Ether trades near $2,290.7, down 1.69% on the day, with the market drifting sideways as buyers and sellers hold positions. RSI at 49.73 sits neutrally mid-range and the MACD reads bearish, confirming the lack of immediate directional conviction. Initial support at $2,266 is critical; a clean break risks a slide toward $2,201 and the deeper $2,147 zone. To the upside, $2,315 caps any recovery attempt, with $2,383 and $2,424 marking the next resistance steps. Bulls need a daily close above $2,315 alongside RSI reclaiming 55 to invalidate the bearish MACD; failure to hold $2,266 would shift bias firmly negative.