The Ethereum Foundation has postponed the Hoodi testnet hard fork after auditors found that the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade could break assumptions built into existing smart contracts. Developers and auditors now face a scramble to check code before the fork proceeds.
What actually happened
The Ethereum Foundation said on 6 November 2026 that security auditor ChainSecurity found compatibility and security risks tied to the Glamsterdam upgrade, Wu Blockchain reported. EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 change gas costs for certain operations and the gas charging mechanism for state storage, which may break execution assumptions in live contracts. Core developers postponed the Hoodi testnet hard fork until the issues are resolved. The Foundation published eight categories of affected execution assumptions on GitHub and urged developers to audit on-chain contracts and off-chain services. ETH itself traded flat, at $2,239, up +0.03% over 24 hours, between a low of $2,223 and a high of $2,243. Trading volume reached $3.83 billion, with market capitalisation at $273.62 billion.
How we got here
Glamsterdam is Ethereum's next scheduled network upgrade, following a string of recent changes to gas accounting and execution rules. Developers have repeatedly adjusted gas costs to improve efficiency and security, but each change risks breaking contracts that assumed fixed costs. This is not the first time a testnet fork has been delayed for compatibility review. The caution comes as other networks lean on Ethereum rather than compete with it: Scroll and Zilliqa both announced plans this week to migrate toward Ethereum-anchored infrastructure, underscoring Ethereum's role as a settlement layer even as its own upgrade cycle grows more complex.
Why this matters for you
For builders, this is a direct call to action: audit contracts now, before Glamsterdam reaches mainnet, or risk broken logic once gas accounting changes. For users of lending markets, DEXs or any contract with hardcoded gas assumptions, a missed fix could mean failed transactions or lost funds after the fork. For ETH holders, the delay signals that core developers still prioritize safety over speed, a pattern that has kept Ethereum's upgrade history relatively clean. Price action was muted today, with ETH holding near $2,239, suggesting markets are not yet pricing in disruption from the compatibility review.
The bigger question
How many live contracts actually depend on today's gas cost assumptions, and will auditors find them all before Glamsterdam ships? Ethereum's upgrade process has handled gas changes before, but never at this scale of EIP bundling. The answer determines whether this becomes a routine audit cycle or a scramble that forces a longer delay, with consequences for every protocol built on assumptions nobody has tested yet.
What to watch
The Hoodi testnet hard fork has no new date yet; the Ethereum Foundation says it will proceed once ChainSecurity's findings are resolved. Audit firms are expected to report back as the review continues. Separately, ZetaChain's governance vote on migrating to Solana closed on 7 November 2026, with its Layer 1 set to halt blocks on 9 December 2026, a reminder that not every chain is betting on Ethereum's upgrade path.
This article is information, not financial advice. Prices are a snapshot and change constantly. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Do your own research.
