Ethereum client teams are releasing mandatory software updates ahead of Glamsterdam’s next public testnet deployment. The upgrade is scheduled to activate on Hoodi at epoch 132,352 on October 26 at 17:42:48 UTC, bringing enshrined proposer-builder separation, block-level access lists and major gas-accounting changes to Ethereum’s final long-lived test environment before a mainnet date is selected.
According to the Ethereum Foundation’s official Hoodi announcement, Glamsterdam combines the Amsterdam execution-layer fork with the Gloas consensus-layer upgrade. Hoodi’s gas limit will simultaneously increase to 200 million, matching the level already deployed on Sepolia.
The Hoodi transition follows Glamsterdam’s October 6 activation on Sepolia, which moved the upgrade from dedicated development environments into a persistent public testnet. Hoodi now provides another production-like environment for evaluating client interoperability, validator behavior and the new block-building architecture before mainnet activation.
Client Releases Prepare Nodes for ePBS and BALs
Nethermind 2.2.0 is one of the execution clients explicitly requiring Hoodi operators to upgrade before the fork. The release adds Amsterdam support and incorporates Block-Level Access List functionality that can accelerate finalized-block synchronization, alongside RPC, tracing and plugin-interface changes that operators should review before deployment.
Erigon followed with v3.8.0, code-named Watery Whiskers. The release supports both Amsterdam and Gloas through Erigon and its Caplin consensus implementation, while adding execution, commitment and RPC performance improvements designed for the higher-capacity environment introduced by Glamsterdam.
Besu 26.10.0 also schedules Amsterdam on Hoodi and performs an automatic database-format migration on first startup. Once that database upgrade occurs, older Besu versions cannot open the database without running the supplied rollback procedure, making the release more operationally significant than a routine software update.
Reth v2.8.0 has also added the Hoodi activation schedule, while Ethrex 30.0.0-rc.2 and other execution implementations provide compatible builds. Hoodi nodes must pair a Glamsterdam-capable execution client with a compatible consensus client, because supporting only one side of the fork is insufficient to follow the upgraded network.
Consensus clients have similarly converged on Hoodi-ready releases. Lighthouse v8.3.0, Grandine 3.0.0-rc.1, Lodestar 1.50.0, Nimbus 26.10.1, Prysm 7.3.0 and Teku 26.10.1 all support the scheduled Gloas transition. Validators must update both their beacon node and validator client where their chosen software separates those components.
Glamsterdam Changes How Ethereum Builds Blocks
The largest architectural change is EIP-7732, which introduces enshrined proposer-builder separation. ePBS moves key coordination between block proposers and builders into Ethereum’s consensus protocol, including builder commitments, proposer payments and checks that execution payloads arrive on time.
EIP-7928 adds Block-Level Access Lists, which record accounts and storage locations touched during a block. BALs give execution clients information that can support more parallel state access, transaction validation and state-root computation, forming part of Ethereum’s strategy for safely increasing Layer 1 execution capacity.
These changes build on earlier development visible in Prysm’s Gloas-focused client releases and the Platåberget Glamsterdam testnet. Client readiness has therefore progressed through dedicated devnets, Sepolia and now Hoodi rather than moving directly from specification work into mainnet production.
Glamsterdam also changes gas pricing and state accounting, so the migration affects more than validators. Applications with hardcoded gas assumptions, infrastructure using builder services and tooling that processes new block structures may require testing or configuration changes, even when existing smart-contract business logic remains otherwise compatible.
Mainnet remains a separate decision. The successful Hoodi activation will provide another major interoperability checkpoint, but it does not itself schedule Glamsterdam for Ethereum mainnet, and operators should wait for a separate Foundation announcement before treating any proposed December date as final.
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