Ethereum Foundation Asks Core Developers to Hold Glamsterdam Decision Pending Gas Audits
The Ethereum Foundation has asked core developers not to decide the next step for the Glamsterdam upgrade until outside audits of proposed gas changes are public. Four reports flagged live contracts that could break if EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 ship as written.
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The Foundation's Request
The Ethereum Foundation has asked Ethereum's core developers to hold off on deciding Glamsterdam's next step until outside audits of two proposed gas changes are made public. The trigger was four reports identifying live, already-deployed contracts that could break if the changes ship as currently written. The foundation said it is reviewing those reports and contacting teams whose contracts could be affected, but did not name them.
The recommendation is dated November 6, 2026 and specifically covers the Hoodi testnet fork, the step that would test Glamsterdam on a practice network before mainnet. That fork had been scheduled for October 26, 2026 before audit concerns pushed it back. As of November 10, 2026, no new date had been set.
What the Proposals Change
The concern centers on EIP-8037 and EIP-8038. EIP-8037 raises the cost of creating new state: writing to a brand-new storage slot would rise from roughly 22,100 gas to 110,020 gas, according to the research findings. EIP-8038 revises the cost of accessing and writing existing state, including higher costs for cold new-slot SSTORE operations.
Both proposals address the same underlying problem. Glamsterdam calls for raising the gas limit from 60 million to 200 million, roughly a 3.3x increase in L1 capacity. More throughput allows state to grow faster, and a larger state makes running a node more demanding. Repricing state creation is one way to restrain that growth while capacity expands.
How the Audit Concerns Developed
On October 13, security firm ChainSecurity published a report identifying eight critical invariants that the two EIPs could disrupt in existing smart contracts. Four subsequent audit reports pointed to deployed contracts that might be affected, moving the issue from theoretical to specific.
Ethlabs has backed the slower approach. It recommends delaying any decision until audit findings clarify the risks to live contracts, stressing that immutable contracts need full audits before changes land beneath them.
Open Questions and What to Watch
No path forward has been chosen. Developers could adjust the EIPs, add mitigations for vulnerable contract patterns, or proceed with affected teams forewarned, and each route implies a different timeline. For developers, the practical step is to review any contract that relies on fixed gas stipends or tight gas budgets around storage writes, whether or not its team has been contacted.
The next signals are publication of the outside audits, the response from core developers on their regular calls, and whether a new Hoodi date is set.
Why It Matters
For Traders
A possible delay to the Hoodi testnet fork and Glamsterdam timeline could shift near-term ETH sentiment, though no mainnet date has been affected yet.
For Investors
Delay signals the foundation is prioritizing contract safety over schedule, which may affect confidence in the timing of Ethereum's throughput expansion.
For Builders
Contracts relying on fixed gas stipends or tight storage-write gas budgets may break under EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, so review them now.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.
