TLDR:
The Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade will miss its October 26 Hoodi activation as developers review EIP-8037 interactions with mainnet contracts.
The postponement also removes the scheduled increase in Hoodi’s gas limit to 200 million, with no replacement activation date announced.
EIP-8037 changes the cost of creating permanent blockchain data and separates that accounting from execution to manage database growth.
Hoodi node and validator operators must check revised client guidance before October 26, while ETH holders do not need to take action.
The Ethereum Foundation has postponed the Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi testnet, previously scheduled for October 26, 2026. Developers want more time to examine how EIP-8037 interacts with smart contracts already running on mainnet. The Foundation announced the decision on October 22 after All Core Developers Execution call 248.
The change also removes the planned increase in Hoodi’s gas limit to 200 million. Developers have not selected a replacement date. The update affects a testing network, and ETH holders do not need to take any action. It changes the rollout configuration without reversing existing Hoodi transactions or chain history.
Ethereum Glamsterdam Upgrade Prompts Gas Pricing Review
EIP-8037 changes the gas charges for creating permanent blockchain data , known as state. This includes new accounts, contract code and storage entries. The proposal aims to prevent database growth from overwhelming node operators as Ethereum increases capacity.
The Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade would also separate state creation costs from execution costs. That distinction allows larger contract deployments while preserving limits on computational work. Its pricing model targets annual state growth of 120 GiB at a reference block gas limit of 150 million.
That reference figure differs from the 200 million target previously scheduled for Hoodi. One informs the proposed storage pricing model; the other sets the test network’s planned block capacity.
Under EIP-8037, a dedicated gas reserve covers state creation charges first. Execution work draws from a separate allowance. The specification uses this arrangement to avoid squeezing larger contract deployments into the same cap as computation. State creation can still consume execution allowance when its reserve runs out.
Earlier testing helps explain the compatibility concerns surrounding the Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade. In August, Foundation teams reported replaying historical mainnet transactions under revised gas rules. Their assessment covered both EIP-8037 and a separate proposal that changes state access costs.
Most transactions showed no change, while some needed higher gas limits to complete. A smaller group still failed after substantial increases. Those contracts often relied on fixed gas allowances or code that checks how much gas remains.
The Foundation said the large majority of contracts were unaffected by that earlier review. Its teams had started contacting builders facing the greatest impact. Those findings provide background, but do not identify the specific interactions driving the October postponement.
Wallet and infrastructure teams also need to update gas estimation for the proposed rules. The August guidance warned that cached gas constants can underestimate transaction requirements. Developers can search affected contracts by address using the Foundation’s tool.
Hoodi Testnet Delay Changes the Planned Scaling Rollout
The Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade had already activated on Sepolia on October 6, according to the original rollout announcement. Hoodi was the next scheduled public testnet deployment. The package combines Amsterdam execution changes with Gloas consensus changes.
Beyond gas pricing, the Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade changes how participants build and verify blocks. It brings proposer and builder separation into the protocol. Another feature records which accounts and storage locations each block accesses, supporting parallel reads and transaction validation.
The protocol also handles payments from builders to proposers, reducing reliance on trusted intermediaries. Separating consensus checks from execution checks gives validators more time to process transaction payloads.
For Hoodi testnet operators , the immediate task involves checking revised client instructions before October 26. Both execution and consensus software must reflect the removed activation. Custom network configurations also need to match the updated schedule.
The Foundation cautioned that earlier release tables do not confirm support for the postponement. Operators should check release notes explicitly covering the change. Validators must also review guidance for beacon nodes, validator clients and external block builders.
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