Glamsterdam is Ethereum's next network upgrade. Its core changes are writing the block building and validation process into protocol rules, while also adjusting how Gas is priced. For regular users, you do not need to do anything. The upgrade will not ask you to "migrate ETH" or "upgrade tokens." For validators and node operators, you need to update client software before activation and pay attention to the new PTC duties.
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Regular Users: No Action Needed, but Beware of Scams
Glamsterdam does not involve any token migration or asset conversion. If someone tells you that you need to "upgrade ETH" or "migrate tokens" to adapt to this upgrade, that is a scam. Your ETH and ERC-20 tokens remain exactly the same before and after the upgrade, and your wallet address and private keys do not change either.
The upgrade's actual impact on regular users is on Gas fees. EIP-2780 lowers the base Gas cost for simple ETH transfers, making transfers to existing accounts up to about 71% cheaper. However, when transferring to a new address (an account that has never existed on-chain), an extra fee will be charged because creating an account incurs additional cost. This is an exception designed to prevent state data bloat.
Another change worth noting is EIP-7708: ETH transfers and burns will now emit standard log events. This has a positive impact when you use exchanges or cross-chain bridges. In the past, ETH transfers did not have clear receipt logs like ERC-20 tokens, so some platforms needed extra methods to track deposits. After the upgrade, such detection will be more reliable.
Your wallet may need to be updated after the upgrade. The Ethereum Foundation explicitly warns that any tool relying on a hardcoded maximum Gas limit, including some wallets, indexers, and Gas estimators, will break due to the Gas model change and will need updates. This is not something you need to do manually, but if you find that your wallet shows abnormal Gas estimates or fails to send transactions after the upgrade, first check whether a new version is available.
Validators: Update Clients and Learn PTC Duties
If you run your own validator node, you need to do two things.
First, update both your execution layer client and consensus layer client before Glamsterdam activates on mainnet. Execution layer clients to watch include Geth, Nethermind, Besu, Erigon, and Reth. Consensus layer clients include Lighthouse, Prysm, Teku, Nimbus, Lodestar, and Grandine. Updates on both sides are mandatory. Refer to each client team's release announcements for specific version numbers.
Second, understand the new PTC (Payload Timeliness Committee) duties. ePBS (Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation, EIP-7732) separates the verification of the block's "consensus part" from the "execution payload" and introduces a committee to report whether the builder revealed the execution payload on time. This duty is performed by validators and requires support from the consensus layer client.
ePBS also changes the time window for block verification. Under the old mechanism, execution payload verification was squeezed into a "hot path" of about 2 seconds. Glamsterdam extends the window: the next proposer has 6 seconds to verify the payload, and other validators have 9 seconds. This reduces time pressure, but places higher demands on network latency stability, because PTC attestations need to be completed on time within more complex two-party coordination.
Node Operators: Hardware Check and Phased Upgrade
For users running full nodes (not validators), the core change comes from BAL (Block-level Access Lists, EIP-7928). BAL lets nodes know in advance which accounts and storage locations a block will access before executing transactions, allowing parallel disk reads instead of the current sequential processing. This means your node's disk IOPS will become a more critical metric.
If you are using an NVMe SSD, your existing hardware will most likely handle it. If you are still using a SATA SSD or HDD, you may experience increased block processing delays after the upgrade. It is worth running a disk performance check before the upgrade to confirm whether random read IOPS are sufficient.
For node operators, a phased upgrade approach is recommended: first validate your client combination and hardware configuration on a testnet (Sepolia's Glamsterdam test is tentatively scheduled for October 6, 2026), then upgrade low-priority nodes, and finally cover critical nodes. Some sources mention that during the Fusaka upgrade, a client bug caused validators to lose about 382 ETH. Although the situation is different, phased upgrades let you stop in time if anomalies appear.
Testnet Disruption Risks to Watch
Sepolia's Glamsterdam test has a special characteristic: the ePBS mechanism may be abused in a free testnet environment. Since test ETH has no cost, attackers can create many one-time builder identities, submit bids far higher than legitimate builders to win the auction, and then refuse to deliver execution payloads, causing blocks to lack transaction content.
This problem only affects testnets and does not threaten mainnet funds. However, it may disrupt infrastructure testing on Sepolia, and this test is a necessary step before Glamsterdam goes to mainnet. If you run a node during the test period and encounter blocks missing payloads or abnormal PTC reports, first check whether it is this kind of disruption rather than immediately blaming your own configuration. Client teams are discussing solutions to proactively reject specific malicious builders, but as of the test plan announcement, the response remains largely passive.
Upgrade Timeline
Glamsterdam does not yet have a confirmed mainnet activation date. The Platåberget testnet launched in August 2026 and activated the Glamsterdam fork. It is an early public testing environment expected to run for several months. Sepolia's public test is tentatively scheduled for October 6, 2026, with client software needing to be ready by September 29. After Sepolia goes smoothly, the Hoodi testnet is tentatively scheduled to follow on October 27.
The mainnet activation date depends on testnet performance. Ethereum core developers have not announced a final date. Validators and node operators should follow the release channels of the client teams they use rather than relying on a timeline given in any single tutorial.
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Completion Criteria
For regular users: you do not need to do anything. After the upgrade, if your wallet displays balances normally and can send transactions normally, everything is fine. If sending ETH to an existing address costs noticeably less Gas than before, that means EIP-2780 is taking effect.
For validators: both clients have been updated to versions supporting Glamsterdam, the node can participate normally in consensus and PTC attestation, and there are no missed attestations or penalties caused by not updating. Once these are confirmed, upgrade preparation is complete.
For node operators: clients are updated, disk IO does not become a bottleneck in block processing after the upgrade, and node synchronization and state updates are normal. If you encounter persistent processing delays, check storage performance and confirm that the client version matches the current network requirements.
