Ethereum Schedules Glamsterdam Upgrade for Hoodi Testnet Activation on Oct. 26

Ethereum core developers have scheduled the Glamsterdam network upgrade to activate on the Hoodi testnet on Oct. 26, 2026, marking the next critical milestone before a mainnet deployment ¹. The upgrade combines the Amsterdam execution layer changes and the Gloas consensus layer upgrade ¹. At the time of writing, $ETH is trading around $2,422, down 1.4% over the last 24 hours.

The deployment on Hoodi follows Glamsterdam's activation on the Sepolia testnet on Oct. 6, 2026 ¹. According to the Ethereum Foundation, activation on Hoodi is set for epoch 132,352, slot 4,235,264, which corresponds to Oct. 26, 2026, at 17:42:48 UTC ¹. At that precise epoch, Hoodi's network gas limit will automatically increase to 200M ¹. The activation schedule for Ethereum mainnet remains undecided ¹.

Core Architecture: ePBS and Block-Level Access Lists

Glamsterdam introduces structural modifications to Ethereum's consensus and execution layers aimed at expanding Layer 1 throughput ¹. The upgrade incorporates Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7732, which enshrines proposer-builder separation (ePBS) directly into the protocol consensus ¹. Under EIP-7732, block proposers commit to an execution payload provided by a builder, who then reveals the payload data ¹. The protocol directly handles payments from builders to proposers, minimizing reliance on off-chain middleware ¹. Furthermore, ePBS separates consensus validation from execution validation, granting validators additional time to process execution payloads alongside a specialized payload timeliness committee ¹.

To complement consensus-level throughput, EIP-7928 introduces enforced Block-Level Access Lists (BALs) ¹. These lists document all accounts and storage locations accessed during block execution, alongside post-transaction state alterations ¹. BALs enable execution clients to fetch state from disk in parallel, process transactions concurrently, and compute state roots with lower overhead ¹.

Gas Accounting, Repricing, and Client Preparedness

Beyond throughput mechanics, Glamsterdam recalibrates gas pricing to reflect resource usage and state growth ¹. EIP-8037 increases and separately meters state creation costs, while EIP-8038 adjusts state-access costs ¹. Additional scheduled changes cover calldata pricing (EIP-7976), access list fees (EIP-7981), and intrinsic transaction gas (EIP-2780) ¹. Application developers must adjust contract gas assumptions, as hardcoded gas stipends or assumptions about remaining gas could cause transaction failures under the new rules ¹.

Node operators on Hoodi must update both their consensus and execution layer clients ahead of the Oct. 26 activation ¹. Confirmed compatible software versions include Nimbus 26.10.1, Teku 26.10.1, Besu 26.10.0, Nethermind 2.2.0, and Ethrex 30.0.0-rc.2 ¹. Client teams continue to add updated releases as testnet validation progresses ¹.

Protocol Evolution and Mainnet Capacity

Glamsterdam builds upon previous network upgrades—including Dencun, Pectra, and Fusaka—which progressively expanded transaction capacity and lowered operational fees ³. With L1 gas costs sitting at low single-digit gwei levels during typical network conditions in 2026, the expansion of block capacity to 200M gas via BALs and ePBS provides the technical baseline required to support increased L1 transaction density without overwhelming node validation capabilities [1, 3].

Mainnet node operators and regular ETH holders do not need to take action for the Hoodi deployment ¹. The Ethereum Bug Bounty Program remains active for all Glamsterdam specifications and EIPs, offering reward multipliers for vulnerabilities reported across eligible client releases ¹.

Implications for Developers and Node Operators

For node operators, failure to update client software prior to epoch 132,352 on Hoodi will prevent nodes from following the upgraded consensus chain ¹. For smart contract engineers, protocol repricings necessitate rigorous testing on Sepolia and Hoodi before mainnet deployment ¹.

The upgrade path establishes a structured progression toward higher L1 scaling ¹. Once Hoodi activation is complete and client stability is verified, client teams will coordinate the mainnet deployment timeline ¹.

What to Watch

• Oct. 26, 2026 (17:42:48 UTC): Hoodi testnet activation of Glamsterdam at epoch 132,352 and slot 4,235,264 ¹.
• Client Releases: Publication of additional mainnet-ready and Hoodi-compatible execution and consensus client updates ¹.
• Mainnet Date Announcement: Core developer confirmation of the mainnet Glamsterdam activation slot and epoch ¹.