Ethereum Development Team Delays Glamsterdam Upgrade
The Ethereum development team has officially delayed the Glamsterdam upgrade intended for the Hoodi testnet, initially slated for activation on October 26. This decision stems from compatibility issues identified concerning the proposed EIP-8037, which involves changes to gas accounting for the blockchain.
Announcement and Investigation
The October 22 announcement by the Ethereum Foundation noted that during the All Core Developers Execution meeting, it was determined that a thorough investigation into how EIP-8037 affects current mainnet contracts was necessary before proceeding with the upgrade.
“A thorough investigation into how EIP-8037 affects current mainnet contracts was necessary before proceeding with the upgrade.”
Originally scheduled to trigger at 17:42:48 UTC on October 26 and align with Hoodi epoch 132,352, the Glamsterdam upgrade will not be activated as planned. With this postponement, the anticipated rise in the gas limit of the testnet to 200 million has also been scrapped, although it’s essential to clarify that this delay will not impact Hoodi’s current transaction history. The Foundation did not provide a new timeline for activating the testnet.
Node Operator Advisory
The revision to the Hoodi schedule follows an alert issued by Ethereum researcher Christine D. Kim, who advised node operators on the testnet to revert to earlier versions of their software or update to eliminate the canceled upgrade. She emphasized the importance of this action ahead of the initial activation date.
Technical Concerns and Risks
Concerns arose after technical evaluations from blockchain security firm ChainSecurity, which indicated that the upgrade could disrupt how deployed smart contracts manage unsuccessful external calls. Particularly, the new rules under EIP-8037 could initiate scenarios where a transaction fails but leaves enough gas for further processing, potentially misguiding applications regarding the success or failure of operations.
ChainSecurity’s investigation highlighted 13 real-world contracts at risk of these complications, although the specific applications have not been disclosed as responsible transparency processes are ongoing. This assessment raised alarm regarding existing mechanisms within contracts that handle failures, such as in batched transactions or withdrawals, emphasizing the need for careful scrutiny of the proposed changes.
Next Steps for Node Operators
Moving forward, the Ethereum Foundation urged all node operators to confirm that their execution-layer and consensus-layer software is updated prior to the originally scheduled date, as any outdated configurations could still attempt the canceled upgrade. Clients are advised to upgrade to the latest versions, including Lodestar v1.50.1 for the consensus layer and execution-layer updates like Besu 26.10.1 and Nethermind 2.2.1.
Impact on Mainnet and Future Discussions
Despite these setbacks for the Hoodi testnet, the Glamsterdam upgrade proceeded successfully on the Sepolia testnet on October 6, allowing developers to assess performance under a higher gas limit. It’s noteworthy that the postponement does not affect this earlier activation.
As discussions for potential mainnet activation dates continue—initially suggested as December 1, 8, and 9—no final confirmations have been made. The Ethereum Foundation’s recent communication does not provide an alternative date, indicating that developers are expected to further review compatibility issues before moving forward with the Hoodi testnet’s future.
Enhancements and Community Response
Glamsterdam’s proposed enhancements, including enshrined proposer-builder separation and block-level access lists, aim to bolster Ethereum’s transaction processing efficacy. While some in the DeFi community, such as Curve Finance, have expressed anticipation for these advancements, caution was conveyed regarding how new gas structures may influence certain applications.
For now, users on the mainnet and holders of ETH will not need to take any immediate actions due to the postponement, while developers are advised against planning any Hoodi-related tests around the canceled activation date.
