The Ethereum Foundation has announced that the Glamsterdam update will be activated on the Hoodi testnet on October 26, 2026, at epoch 132,352 and slot 4,235,264. The update will increase the bandwidth of the main blockchain layer (L1), optimize block verification, and change the mechanisms for accounting for gas fees. The activation date in the main Ethereum network has not yet been determined.
Glamsterdam combines changes to the Amsterdam execution level and the Gloas consensus level. The key components are the separation of protocol–level block creation and supply (EPBs) and block-level data access lists (BALS).
The EPBs provided by EIP-7732 separates the roles of validators who propose blocks and participants who create them. The protocol coordinates the interaction between them and payment, reducing dependence on trusted intermediaries, and gives validators more time to verify the execution of transactions.
The BALS described in EIP-7928 capture accounts and repositories accessed during block processing, as well as changes in state after transactions. This will allow clients to read data in parallel, verify transactions, and more efficiently calculate the roots of the state.
Glamsterdam is also changing the rules for calculating gas in order to more accurately account for the use of resources and the growth of the blockchain state: EIP-8037 increases and separately takes into account the cost of creating a state, EIP-8038 updates the cost of accessing it. Other changes include the Ethereum transfer logs, a new opcode for getting the slot number, an increase in the maximum size of smart contracts, and changes to the rules for validators.
At the same time, the gas limit of the network will be increased to 200 million, as already done in Sepolia on October 6. During testing in Sepolia, the developers identified a vulnerability in the block auction system: attackers can interrupt legitimate bids and not transfer transactions after winning.
Node operators and Hoodi validators need to upgrade clients of execution and consensus levels to compatible versions before launch and check the requirements for the new block creation process. Application developers are advised to test smart contracts on the updated Sepolia and Hoodi: contracts relying on fixed gas limits may require changes. The update for the mainnet will be announced separately; mainnet users and asset owners do not need to do anything yet.
This material is prepared solely for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation.
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