sepolia

The next phase upgrade of Ethereum, Glamsterdam, was activated on the Sepolia testnet on October 6, completing block finality during the switch without any critical failures. This upgrade consists of the consensus layer Gloas and the execution layer Amsterdam, incorporating a total of 18 EIPs, designed with a gas limit of approximately 200 million, which is about 3.3 times the current mainnet limit of 60 million. The upgrade will not automatically raise the limit but will allow for larger blocks to be produced safely, with validators deciding whether to increase it.Key changes include EIP-7732, which embeds the separation of proposers and builders in the protocol, extending the time for most validators to check transactions from about 4 seconds to about 9 seconds; EIP-7928 requires blocks to include the touched state and updated values, facilitating client data prefetching and parallel validation; EIP-7954 raises the contract code limit from 24 KiB to 64 KiB; EIP-8037 increases the cost of creating new storage slots from 20,000 gas to 97,920 gas, while regular ETH transfers remain at 21,000 gas.The gas limit for the first relevant block on Sepolia was 60 million, reaching 200 million about 11 hours later and maintaining that level. Ethereum Foundation researcher Toni Wahrstätter stated that the speed at which various clients handle gas units has improved compared to before the upgrade, with Geth's execution time for a 40 million gas block reduced from about 115 milliseconds to about 30 milliseconds. The Hoodi testnet is tentatively scheduled for deployment on October 27, with the mainnet target set for the fourth quarter of 2026;

According to CoinDesk, the Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade was activated on the Sepolia testnet this Tuesday, increasing the block Gas limit from about 60 million to nearly 200 million, more than tripling the increase.A review of over 25 consecutive test blocks showed that the actual Gas usage was around 52 million to 92 million, accounting for only 26% to 46% of the available limit, with no instances of full capacity. The upgrade also adjusted the Gas consumption method for specific tasks and the costs of storing data, requiring developers to retest applications involving specific Gas cost assumptions. The next public testnet, Hoodi, is tentatively scheduled to launch on October 27, and the activation date for the Ethereum mainnet has yet to be determined.

According to CoinDesk, Ethereum developers released version 7.2.1 of the Prysm client on Monday evening, embedding a 200 million Gas limit to complete deployment ahead of the Sepolia testnet testing for the Glamsterdam upgrade on Tuesday.Glamsterdam is the next major upgrade for Ethereum, which will first be activated on the Sepolia testnet, where developers rehearse changes using tokens with no actual value. Part of Tuesday's testing involves raising the Gas limit on Sepolia from approximately 60 million to 200 million.Gas is the unit that measures how much computational workload a single block can accommodate on Ethereum. A higher limit means the network can handle more transactions and more complex activities simultaneously, but it also places higher demands on the computers running Ethereum. Prysm is the client software used by Ethereum validators, and its previous version had completed before this setting was added to the Sepolia configuration. Therefore, validators running the old version will still produce blocks with a 60 million Gas limit unless they manually modify the parameters, which undermines the effectiveness of this capacity test.Validators running the latest version will automatically start proposing blocks with a 200 million Gas limit when Glamsterdam activates on Sepolia at 13:53:36 UTC on October 6. Ethereum has been gradually increasing block capacity to test how far it can go before running validators becomes too demanding or expensive. The 200 million setting is only applicable to Sepolia, and Glamsterdam has not yet been activated on the Ethereum mainnet.

The Ethereum Foundation announced that the Ethereum network upgrade Glamsterdam will be activated on the Sepolia testnet on October 6 at 21:53:36 Beijing time, corresponding to epoch 353024 and slot 11296768. The activation date for Hoodi and the mainnet has not yet been determined.Glamsterdam combines the execution layer Amsterdam upgrade and the consensus layer Gloas upgrade. Key changes include the embedded proposer-builder separation and block-level access lists to enhance L1 throughput, as well as adjustments to gas billing to better reflect the costs of execution and state growth. Node operators must update their execution layer and consensus layer clients before activation. Contracts relying on fixed gas assumptions may need to be modified.

Ethereum developers warn: Attackers can exploit free testnet ETH and one-time builder identities to win Sepolia block auctions and withhold transaction payloads during the Glamsterdam testing period.This attack does not threaten mainnet funds but may disrupt infrastructure testing. The Sepolia public test is scheduled to launch on October 6, with the Hoodi test tentatively set for October 27, and the mainnet activation time is still undetermined.

According to CoinDesk, the Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade has continued to confirm blocks after adopting new block construction rules this week, passing key tests and paving the way for its planned launch on the Sepolia public testnet on October 6. The Nethermind client subsequently completed performance tests involving one of the biggest changes in Glamsterdam, with all 2,302 tests passing, processing 57.07 billion gas in 3 minutes and 15 seconds, averaging about 2.9 billion gas per second.The benchmark measures the speed of the Nethermind execution software rather than the entire network, testing block-level access lists. This mechanism informs Ethereum nodes in advance about which accounts and storage data will be used in the block, allowing nodes to fetch data and check unrelated transactions simultaneously, whereas the current Ethereum mostly processes related work sequentially, limiting the amount of activity each block can accommodate. About an hour after the testnet launch, Glamsterdam raised the block gas limit from 60 million to 200 million, freeing up space for more payments, token swaps, and other activities per block.The 200 million gas limit allows Ethereum to absorb more activity before users start bidding for block space, thereby alleviating fee spikes during transaction surges or when popular tokens are launched. Larger blocks are also harder to verify, which may make it difficult for small-scale operators to keep up. Glamsterdam aims to gain additional capacity without excessively increasing chain operating costs. This upgrade also extends the block data propagation time from about 2 seconds to 9 seconds and plans to incorporate the handover and payment of block construction and verification into Ethereum's own rules, reducing reliance on external relay services.

According to a report by Christine D. Kim, Ethereum developers confirmed at the ACDC #186 meeting that the Glamsterdam upgrade will be activated on the Sepolia testnet on October 6 at 13:53 UTC. However, there is significant uncertainty regarding this upgrade—currently, the latest private testnet Glamsterdam-Devnet-9 is not stable, and a serious vulnerability has been discovered in the consensus layer that could cause the entire network to stop producing blocks. The execution layer EIP-8037 also has bugs that need to be fixed.Developers will launch Devnet-10 in the coming weeks, and if Devnet-10 remains unstable, the Sepolia upgrade date may be postponed. The activation schedule for the Hoodi testnet and mainnet is currently undetermined, and whether the goal of launching the mainnet by the end of the year can be achieved remains uncertain.

ChainCatcher message, the Ethereum Foundation officially released a reminder update stating that it has noticed some L2 deployments on Sepolia not functioning properly over the past few days, due to EIP-7549 changing the proof format.To address the Fusaka upgrade, all Blob initiators are urged to update their software to create Cell Proofs instead of Blob Proofs. The Ethereum Foundation also added that L2s and other entities heavily reliant on the Ethereum roadmap are encouraged to follow the ACD process and engage more directly with the community. Teams are also encouraged to deploy contracts and test infrastructure on the development network before migrating to the first testnet.Another good way to stay updated is by using the Ethereum package provided by Kurtosis, which can be used to create a local network that complies with the latest specifications.

ChainCatcher message, following a successful trial on the Holesky testnet two weeks ago, Ethereum developers launched the second test of the Fusaka upgrade earlier on Tuesday on the Sepolia testnet. Before the developers confirm the mainnet activation date, a final rehearsal is planned for October 28 on the Hoodi testnet, marking the last step before deployment.Fusaka introduces the PeerDAS data validation method, which allows validators to process only a portion of the data, thereby reducing bandwidth requirements and lowering costs for institutional users and Layer2 networks.

ChainCatcher message, Ethereum's Pectra upgrade on the Sepolia testnet is facing interruptions, as an unknown attacker exploited the zero-token transfer situation, resulting in the mining of empty blocks.

ChainCatcher message, the Ethereum Foundation published an article on its official blog stating that the Pectra network upgrade was previously launched on the Sepolia testnet, but it was later discovered that there was an issue with the Sepolia permissioned deposit contract, which caused many execution layer clients to be unable to include transactions in blocks. The cause of the problem was quickly identified, and the client teams immediately began working on a fix. This issue is specific to the configuration of the Sepolia testnet and cannot occur on the Ethereum mainnet. Validators have now deployed a patch to restore the network to normal throughput. All Sepolia node operators must now upgrade their execution layer clients to maintain network compatibility.

ChainCatcher news, Ethereum core developer timbeiko.eth stated regarding the Sepolia testnet upgrade issue: "The client teams have coordinated to fix the issue and are attempting to deploy it to the validating nodes. If everything goes well, we will release a longer update soon."Previous news, the Ethereum Sepolia testnet Pectra upgrade encountered issues, and developers are investigating.

ChainCatcher news, Ethereum Foundation (EF) protocol support lead Tim Beiko updated on X: "Well, it seems I spoke too soon... We are investigating issues caused by the custom deposit contract on Sepolia. This has led to problems with some execution layer (EL) clients, including transactions in blocks."Previous news, the Pectra upgrade has been activated on the Sepolia testnet and is entering the final testing phase.

ChainCatcher news, the upcoming Pectra upgrade for Ethereum was activated on the Sepolia testnet around 14:30 Beijing time today.It is reported that the Sepolia version is the last major release before the mainnet upgrade launch, which is expected to start next month. This deployment marks the second phase of the Pectra testnet activation, following Pectra's launch on the Holesky testnet on February 24.The Pectra upgrade is named a combination of "Prague" (execution layer changes) and "Electra" (consensus layer updates), introducing several changes aimed at improving Ethereum's scalability. If performance is good, developers expect to determine the mainnet activation date during the All Core Developers (ACD) call on March 6, 2025. The potential launch time for the mainnet is set for early April.

ChainCatcher message, Ethereum Foundation protocol support lead Tim Beiko updated on X about the issues with the Holesky testnet Pectra upgrade.Beiko stated that a large-scale slash will be executed on the Holesky testnet tonight to finalize the blocks on the correct chain, which may last for 2 to 3 weeks until the weight of the slashed validators drops below 33% of the entire network.Beiko also mentioned that the upgrade schedule for the Sepolia testnet will not change, in order to provide a longer testing period for the mainnet upgrade. Issues related to the mainnet upgrade will be discussed at next week's ACDC meeting, but it is unlikely that a specific date will be determined.

ChainCatcher message, the Ethereum Foundation's official blog announced that the Pectra network upgrade plan will launch on the Ethereum testnet. It will go live on Holesky at epoch 115968 (Beijing time February 25, 05:55), and then on Sepolia at epoch 222464 (Beijing time March 5, 15:29).The Pectra testnet client versions are listed below. After both testnets successfully upgrade, one mainnet activation epoch will be selected. Pectra follows last year's Dencun upgrade. It introduces enhanced Ethereum accounts, improved validator experience, support for L2 scaling, and more features.

ChainCatcher news, the Kakarot team of the Ethereum Layer 2 network recently announced that its testnet has successfully migrated to the Starknet Sepolia network. Developers need to redeploy smart contracts on the new testnet Kakarot Starknet Sepolia.Kakarot is a verifiable EVM built on a STARK-friendly ZK-VM based on Starkware, developed by KKRT Labs, aimed at accelerating the application of zero-knowledge proof technology in blockchain infrastructures like Ethereum through the "STARKification" of the EVM.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Base official website, the fault proof is expected to be launched in mid-July on Base Sepolia (testnet). The fault proof is a crucial implementation step in the process of L2 moving towards decentralization.

ChainCatcher message, Scroll announced on social media that its Curie network upgrade is now live on the Sepolia network.It is reported that the improvements introduced by Curie include: a 1.5 times reduction in Gas costs due to DA compression, comprehensive support for the Ethereum EIP-1559 fee mechanism, and the Curie network will subsequently upgrade on the Scroll mainnet.