The Hoodi testnet now has a fixed date for Ethereum’s next upgrade rehearsal. The Ethereum Foundation said on Oct. 16 that Glamsterdam will activate on Hoodi on Oct. 26, 2026, at 17:42:48 UTC. Node operators have until then to update software. Mainnet timing is still undecided, so ETH holders and mainnet operators do not need to act because of this notice.
What operators need to do
Hoodi operators should update execution and consensus clients before activation. Validators need to update both the beacon node and validator client, then review new duties, builder-tooling compatibility and gas-limit settings. The Foundation’s confirmed releases, checked Oct. 17, list Ethrex as a release candidate. Grandine, Lighthouse, Erigon, go-ethereum and Reth were not listed at that time. Operators should use releases whose notes confirm this Hoodi activation.
Besu 26.10.0 has a specific note. It migrates Bonsai code storage on first startup and keeps more history when pruning. Downgrading is not a simple rollback: the documented besu storage revert-code-format command must run before an older version can reopen the database.
The 200 million gas target
The 200 million gas figure is a planned budget for computational work per block. It is not an instantly enforced ceiling. The gas-limit schedule sets client defaults and recommendations while preserving operator preferences. Under existing rules, the actual block limit adjusts gradually. Real throughput will depend on transaction complexity, and fees will still depend on demand.
Glamsterdam combines Amsterdam on the execution layer with Gloas on the consensus layer. Enshrined proposer-builder separation moves the exchange between block proposers and builders into the protocol. That gives validators more time to check execution. Block-level access lists record accessed accounts, storage and state changes, which lets clients perform more work in parallel.
Developers still have testing to do
Changed gas pricing may affect contracts that rely on fixed stipends, hardcoded limits or assumptions about remaining gas. The Foundation advises testing contracts and gas estimation under the new rules. Hoodi is a testnet, but the upgrade is a deadline for operators. Missing client updates could leave a node out of sync, perhaps at the moment the network changes rules. The Sepolia activation on Oct. 6 came first. Hoodi is the next scheduled check before any mainnet decision.
That mainnet decision remains open. The Foundation did not set a date. For now, the work is local: update clients, check release notes, and test contracts where gas assumptions matter.
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