Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade introduces gas repricing

The upcoming Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, will introduce gas repricing through EIP-8037 and EIP-8038. These proposals aim to align gas costs more accurately with the actual computational resources required for on-chain state creation and access, addressing the challenges posed by the network's growing state size.

EIP-8037 will increase costs for creating new state elements, such as accounts, storage slots, and bytecode. EIP-8038 will adjust costs for accessing or updating existing state via operations like SSTORE and SLOAD. While the Ethereum Foundation notes that most smart contracts and transactions will remain unaffected, developers using hardcoded gas assumptions—such as fixed stipends or gas limits—may face execution failures or performance issues.

To prepare, the Foundation has replayed historical transactions under the new model, finding that most issues can be resolved by increasing gas limits. However, some contracts may require structural changes. Developers are encouraged to test their contracts on the Platåberget testnet. For end users, the primary requirement will be the update of wallets and RPC infrastructure to ensure accurate gas estimation and prevent transaction failures.