Ethereum developers have announced a temporary postponement of the highly anticipated Glamsterdam network upgrade on the Hoodi testnet, which was originally slated to introduce a major gas-limit increase alongside critical Layer 1 scaling advancements.
According to a project update released on October 22, 2026, the activation instructions and schedule previously set for October 26 have been officially superseded. The decision arrives shortly after Glamsterdam successfully deployed on the Sepolia testnet earlier in the month on October 6. Network operators and validators are advised to consult upcoming guidance regarding updated timelines for the Hoodi testnet, while Ethereum mainnet activation plans remain undecided as core teams continue to evaluate testnet performance.
The Glamsterdam network upgrade represents a significant milestone in Ethereum’s Layer 1 scaling roadmap, combining the Amsterdam execution layer upgrade with the Gloas consensus layer upgrade. Its primary objectives are to optimize block production, enhance state growth management, and streamline validation processes through protocol-level architectural shifts.
Among its headline features is Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation, governed by EIP-7732. This change integrates the separation between block proposers and builders directly into Ethereum’s consensus protocol. Under the new framework, a proposer includes a builder’s cryptographic commitment to an execution payload, and the builder subsequently reveals the payload. The protocol manages direct payment execution, thereby reducing the network’s historical reliance on trusted third-party middleware for the exchange between proposers and builders.
Additionally, the upgrade cleanly separates consensus validation from execution validation, granting validators significantly more time to verify execution payloads. A dedicated payload timeliness committee will attest whether builders reveal their payloads and ensure corresponding blob data remains available on time. Validator operators and infrastructure maintenance teams are strongly encouraged to review the updated duties and interfaces well ahead of the eventual deployment.
Alongside ePBS, Glamsterdam introduces Block-Level Access Lists under EIP-7928. These enforced lists record specific accounts and storage locations accessed during a block, alongside subsequent post-transaction state changes. By providing this deterministic visibility, the protocol allows client software to read state from disk in parallel, validate transactions concurrently, and compute state roots with greater computational efficiency. Together, ePBS and block-level access lists establish a robust foundation for scaling execution capacity while ensuring block validation remains manageable for independent node operators.
The upgrade also tackles resource accounting and state growth through comprehensive gas repricing. EIP-8037 increases and separately meters the cost associated with creating new state, while EIP-8038 updates general state-access costs. Additional modifications adjust intrinsic transaction gas costs, calldata processing, access lists, and overarching block gas accounting.
Application developers have been advised to thoroughly test smart contracts and gas estimation logic against the revised rules. Contracts relying on fixed gas stipends, hardcoded limits, or historical assumptions regarding remaining gas may require modification to function correctly under the new economic parameters.
Beyond scaling and pricing adjustments, Glamsterdam introduces several developer and validator enhancements, including native Ethereum transfer logs, a dedicated slot-number opcode, an increased maximum contract size, a deterministic factory contract, and novel stack-manipulation instructions. Consensus-layer modifications include forward-compatible data structures, the exclusion of slashed validators from proposing new blocks, and increased validator exit and consolidation churn rates.
The Ethereum Bug Bounty Program remains fully active for all Glamsterdam specifications and associated EIPs. Client software implementations become eligible for bug bounty rewards as soon as their respective releases are officially published and confirmed for network deployment.
The original deployment schedule had slated the Hoodi testnet activation at epoch 132,352 and slot 4,235,264, which corresponded to October 26, 2026, at 17:42:48 UTC, alongside a gas-limit increase to 200 million. While Sepolia successfully activated at epoch 353,024 on October 6, 2026, the Hoodi delay means that a new activation schedule and revised client release tables will be distributed by core developers in due course. Mainnet deployment dates will only be determined after the upgraded testnets have operated stably for a sufficient duration.
Node operators running non-staking nodes or validation infrastructure on Hoodi will need to update both their execution and consensus layer clients to compatible versions once the new activation parameters are finalized. Stakers must ensure that both their beacon nodes and validator clients are concurrently updated and that they review client-specific documentation regarding new ePBS responsibilities and gas limit configurations.
As Ethereum network upgrades require explicit opt-in from node operators, maintaining aligned client software remains critical for preserving network consensus. Mainnet users, ETH holders, and application developers not actively participating in testnet validation do not need to take immediate action, though developers should review the updated gas specifications to ensure application resilience prior to eventual mainnet deployment.
Ethereum & Smart Contracts
Ethereum & Smart Contracts
Ethereum & Smart Contracts
