Ethereum Glamsterdam Upgrade Halts Abruptly, Critical Compatibility Flaw Uncovered
On October 23rd, the Ethereum developer community announced an urgent postponement of the Glamsterdam upgrade activation on the Hoodi testnet, originally scheduled for October 26th. The decision was made during the 248th All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) call, prompted by a risk assessment from security firm ChainSecurity.
EIP-8037: A Compatibility Bug That Could "Brick" Contracts
ChainSecurity's audit of the EIP-8037 proposal revealed a critical flaw in its proposed gas repricing mechanism. The core risks identified include:
- Permanent Operation Failure: Under specific conditions, smart contract calls could be permanently recorded as failed, with no path to recovery.
- Mainnet Compatibility Breakage: The new mechanism could disrupt interactions with contracts already deployed and functioning on the current Ethereum mainnet.
Such compatibility issues are particularly severe for a network with Ethereum's scale, directly threatening network stability and the security of user assets. The core developer team unanimously agreed that proceeding with the upgrade before resolving the issue would be "irresponsible."
Collateral Impact: Gas Limit Increase Plan Also Shelved
With the Glamsterdam upgrade delayed, a closely-watched accompanying change—raising the block gas limit from 30 million to 200 million—has also been temporarily shelved. This adjustment aimed to significantly boost network throughput and alleviate congestion but must now await a safer technical implementation.
No new activation date for the Hoodi testnet has been set. The development team requires time to redesign or replace the problematic EIP-8037 and subject it to more rigorous security audits.
Mainnet Upgrade Timeline Pushed Back
The testnet delay inevitably postpones the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Ethereum mainnet. Previous community expectations pointed to a rollout in early to mid-December. That timeline is now obsolete.
The Ethereum Foundation and core developers have not yet provided an updated roadmap. The community must await further technical evaluation and testing outcomes. This incident reinforces a fundamental principle in blockchain upgrades: security must always take precedence over speed.