Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade delayed as developers address gas repricing risks

Ethereum’s next major upgrade, Glamsterdam, has been postponed as developers review technical concerns related to planned gas repricing that could disrupt smart contracts across the network. Gas fees represent the costs Ethereum charges for computation and data storage, with proposed changes potentially affecting transaction costs and compatibility for deployed applications.

Glamsterdam upgrade and halted test launch

Two key elements of the Glamsterdam proposal, EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, are focused on adjusting the fees associated with certain operations and data storage within Ethereum. Developers canceled a scheduled rollout on the Hoodi test network, originally planned for October 26, following the discovery of four deployed smart contracts potentially at risk of failure due to the repricing.

The Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit organization coordinating development for the Ethereum network, reported the contract issues on November 9, emphasizing the importance of thorough auditing before any upgrade can proceed. External audit firms ChainSecurity and Dedaub have been assigned to review the protocol changes and are expected to deliver their findings within the week.

A series of developer calls is scheduled for November 16 and November 19, where findings will be discussed and no final decisions have been committed in advance.

Mini dictionary: EIP (Ethereum Improvement Proposal) — A formal document suggesting technical changes or new features to the Ethereum blockchain. Each EIP is evaluated by the developer community before possible implementation through upgrades known as hard forks.

Developers face surge of proposals

Greg Markou, who previously contributed as an Ethereum core developer and co-founded ChainSafe, defended the diligence of Ethereum engineers amid ongoing scrutiny over upgrade delays. ChainSafe is a blockchain infrastructure company specializing in software for Ethereum and other protocols.

Markou described the upgrade process as highly complex, noting that developers must often package around 30 EIPs into a single hard fork, leading to inherent risks of technical conflicts. He recounted previous incidents, including when he maintained the web3.js library and encountered significant disruptions following the EIP-1559 fee overhaul in August 2021.

Among the current core developers, Markou argued it is incorrect to assume they do not prioritize the needs of application teams, pointing out Ethereum’s complexity and the repeated challenges caused by gas repricing in prior upgrades.

He also highlighted the recent spike in incoming proposals, estimating around 10 per day, driven in part by the use of artificial intelligence tools to automate submission and review processes. An independent tally showed 251 pull requests related to EIPs and Ethereum Request for Comments (ERC) standards opened over the 30 days leading up to November 10, roughly eight per day—a figure more than double the tally for the same period in 2024, though down from 316 in the same stretch of 2025.

Testing, audits, and upgrade uncertainty

Markou advised that teams building decentralized applications on Ethereum should employ their own AI tools to test upcoming forks, warning that they should promptly report any critical failures identified in simulations so they can be resolved before a mainnet release.

He acknowledged that heated debates over upgrades are common and tend to appear chaotic, observing that online outcry is often amplified by its potential to drive user engagement.

Markou stated that regardless of the apparent disorder in public discussions, such disputes are part of the development process and contribute to the overall health and transparency of protocol changes.