Ethereum Clarified Reasons for Glamsterdam Delay Due to Contract Risks

Ethereum developers will not activate the Glamsterdam update on the Hoodi test network until potential smart contract security issues are resolved. In a publication dated November 6, 2026, the non-profit Ethereum Foundation reported on the review of 8 technical assumptions that may cease to hold after the implementation of EIP-8037 and EIP-8038.

The decision is related to the change in the gas calculation mechanism – the unit of account for computational resources in the Ethereum network. Some existing contracts assume that executing certain operations requires a known amount of gas in advance. After revising the rules, such assumptions may prove incorrect.

Risks identified by ChainSecurity

On October 13, 2026, ChainSecurity, a company specializing in smart contract security audits, presented an analysis of the possible consequences of the update. Researchers found that the new rules could change contract behavior when external calls fail.

In particular, the changes could affect the handling of situations where an operation ends due to insufficient gas. A contract may continue execution after such a failure in conditions where previously the entire operation would have been canceled. This creates a risk of incorrect error handling in certain applications.

Proposals EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 provide for a revision of the cost of creating and accessing Ethereum network state data. Developers are studying which existing contracts depend on the old rules and whether changes to the Glamsterdam specifications will be necessary.

When Glamsterdam implementation will continue

On October 6, 2026, Glamsterdam was activated on the Sepolia test network. This is one of the stages of testing the update before its implementation in the main Ethereum network.

Glamsterdam provides for the separation of the block proposer and builder functions, the introduction of block-level data access lists, and changes to the gas calculation mechanism. These measures are aimed at improving the scalability of Ethereum's base layer.

The Ethereum Foundation reported that postponing the Hoodi update will allow further study of possible incompatibilities. Developers and auditors need to determine which contracts may be affected and what changes are necessary to prevent errors.

The activation of Glamsterdam on Hoodi will not take place until the identified issues are resolved. New timelines for the update's implementation in the test and main Ethereum networks have not yet been announced.