The Ethereum network is preparing for its next major upgrade, Glamsterdam, but technical discussions surrounding Gas fee adjustments have prompted some developers to focus on smart contract compatibility issues. EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 plan to readjust the Gas costs of certain state creation and access operations, with the goal of better aligning network resource consumption with the fee mechanism. However, some already-deployed smart contracts may rely on the old Gas calculation rules, and after the upgrade there is a risk of execution failure or abnormal operation.
On November 9, 2026, as two new compatibility solutions entered discussion, the Ethereum upgrade once again became a focus for developers. What exactly will this adjustment change? Does a Gas fee increase mean ordinary users will need to pay more in transaction costs? And how should existing smart contracts respond?
I. What Is the Ethereum Glamsterdam Upgrade?
Glamsterdam is an important planned network upgrade for Ethereum, with its name combining the execution layer upgrade Amsterdam and the consensus layer upgrade Gloas.
This upgrade involves not only network execution efficiency, but also adjustments to block production mechanisms, data access methods, and Gas pricing rules.
Among these, EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 are important components of the controversy.
EIP-8037 mainly adjusts the Gas cost of creating new state on Ethereum, including operations such as creating accounts, storage space, and deploying smart contract code. EIP-8038 adjusts state access costs, such as reading and writing storage data and accessing information from other accounts.
Simply put, Ethereum wants the network resources consumed by different operations to better match the Gas actually paid.
This adjustment has long-term significance. As accounts, smart contracts, and storage data on the Ethereum network continue to increase, nodes need to bear higher data maintenance and processing costs. By redesigning the Gas pricing mechanism, network resource management can be made more reasonable.
However, changes to Gas rules also mean that smart contracts written according to the old rules in the past may face new adaptation issues.
II. Why Might Gas Fee Adjustments Affect Old Smart Contracts?
To understand this controversy, one first needs to understand the role of Gas in Ethereum smart contracts.
Gas is the unit that measures the computational resources required for Ethereum transactions and smart contract execution. When users transfer funds on the network, call smart contracts, or use decentralized applications, they all need to consume a certain amount of Gas.
Smart contract developers usually design programs according to the Gas rules at the time, including setting call fees, execution limits, and how remaining Gas is handled.
The problem is that some already-deployed contracts treat the old Gas costs as fixed conditions.
For example, when a smart contract calls another contract, it may pre-allocate a fixed amount of Gas. If Glamsterdam increases the Gas cost of the relevant operation, a call that was originally sufficient may fail due to insufficient Gas.
More complex still, some contracts cannot directly modify already-deployed code. Once the execution conditions these contracts rely on change, developers may be unable to solve the problem through a simple update.
According to technical notes previously published by the Ethereum Foundation, Glamsterdam's Gas repricing may indeed affect some smart contracts that rely on specific execution conditions. However, the Foundation also points out that most smart contracts will not be affected, and some issues can be fixed by raising Gas limits and similar measures.
Therefore, what this upgrade truly needs to solve is not that all contracts will fail, but how to avoid disrupting the normal operation of existing applications while optimizing network resource management.
III. What Changes Do EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 Bring?
The core goal of EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 is to make Ethereum Gas pricing better reflect actual network resource consumption.
In the past, the Gas prices of some Ethereum state operations had not undergone major adjustments for many years. But as the scale of network state expands, the old prices may no longer fully reflect the cost required for nodes to process and maintain data.
EIP-8037 increases the cost of creating new state. Among these, the base Gas fee for creating a smart contract increases from 32,000 to 183,600, and the actual deployment cost also needs to account for other fees such as code storage and execution.
EIP-8038 adjusts the Gas costs of state access-related operations, including operations such as SLOAD and SSTORE.
This means the new rules affect not only smart contract deployment, but may also change the resource consumption of some contracts during operation.
From the perspective of network development, these adjustments help improve the rationality of resource pricing. But from the developer's perspective, code that previously relied on fixed Gas assumptions needs to be re-examined.
IV. How Do the Two New Proposals Solve Smart Contract Compatibility Issues?
As security researchers discovered potential risks, Ethereum developers began discussing how to reduce the impact of the Glamsterdam upgrade on old contracts.
The first solution is EIP-8488.
The proposal put forward by Leo Glisic hopes to distinguish the Gas rules for old and new smart contracts. Already-deployed old contracts continue to use the original Gas pricing mechanism, while newly deployed contracts adopt the new rules consistent with EIP-8037 and EIP-8038.
The advantage of this approach is that it can reduce the impact of rule changes on old contracts and lower the pressure on developers to modify historical code.
The second solution was proposed by Giulio Rebuffo.
His design is to run two Gas metering mechanisms simultaneously in each transaction, one calculating contract execution according to the old rules and the other settling fees according to the new rules.
This approach hopes to allow old contracts to continue operating under the original execution conditions while adopting the new Gas fee standards.
However, this design still requires substantial technical validation work. The draft proposal explicitly states that execution client implementation and consensus testing have not yet been completed.
The main difference between the two solutions is that EIP-8488 tends to distinguish rules by contract deployment time, while Rebuffo's solution attempts to accommodate both old and new rules through a dual Gas metering mechanism. At present, neither proposal can be regarded as formally adopted, nor is there a definite implementation timeline.
V. Will the Glamsterdam Upgrade Increase Users' Transaction Costs?
This is a question of greater concern to ordinary ETH users.
First, it is necessary to distinguish between the unit price of Gas and the actual transaction fee. Ethereum transaction fees are usually determined jointly by Gas consumption and Gas unit price. Even if the Gas unit cost of certain operations increases, it does not mean the final fee of all transactions will rise by the same proportion.
For example, the Gas consumed by an ordinary ETH transfer and by a complex smart contract interaction is not the same. EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 mainly target state creation and access-related operations, so the degree of impact depends on the specific operations involved in the transaction.
For ordinary users, the following aspects may deserve attention:
First, the transaction costs of DeFi applications. If the relevant protocols make extensive use of smart contract storage and access operations, changes to Gas rules may affect the execution costs of some transactions.
Second, the risk of smart contract interaction failure. If an application still relies on old Gas limits or fixed call conditions, it may need adaptation after the upgrade.
Third, Gas estimation by wallets and trading platforms. The relevant infrastructure needs to adapt to the new network rules in a timely manner to avoid transaction failures caused by inaccurate estimation.
Therefore, it cannot simply be assumed that Glamsterdam will definitely increase the transaction fees of all Ethereum users. The actual impact still depends on the upgrade rules ultimately adopted and the usage of specific applications.
VI. What Should Ethereum Developers and Users Pay Attention To?
The compatibility discussion brought about by Glamsterdam shows that blockchain upgrades need to consider not only network performance but also the stability of historical applications.
For smart contract developers, the first step should be to check whether programs rely on fixed Gas limits, hard-coded call costs, or specific assumptions about remaining Gas. Second, contract execution under the new rules should be verified on test networks, and the relevant code adjusted according to the test results.
For DeFi protocols and infrastructure service providers, key areas such as cross-contract calls, transaction failure handling, and storage operations also need to be carefully checked.
Ordinary users do not need to take special action immediately because of testnet upgrade delays, but they should pay attention to whether the DeFi protocols, wallets, and applications they use have issued compatibility announcements.
In the long run, adjustments to Ethereum's Gas mechanism are an important part of the network's continued development. How to strike a balance between improving resource utilization efficiency and maintaining smart contract compatibility will directly affect the stable development of the Ethereum ecosystem.
Conclusion
The controversy triggered by the Glamsterdam upgrade reflects an important challenge Ethereum faces in advancing technical optimization: new rules need to meet the needs of future network development while not ignoring smart contracts that have been running for many years.
EIP-8488 and another dual Gas metering solution provide different approaches to solving compatibility issues, but they are still at the proposal and technical discussion stage.
For the Ethereum ecosystem, Gas fee adjustments are not just changes in fee standards, but also involve smart contract execution, security, and the long-term sustainable development of the network. Whether subsequent upgrades can proceed smoothly still depends on developer test results, community discussion, and the final protocol design.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1. What are Ethereum Gas Fees?
Answer: Ethereum Gas Fees are the fees users need to pay when executing transactions or calling smart contracts on the Ethereum network. The specific amount depends on Gas consumption and the Gas unit price at the time.
Q2. What is the Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade?
Answer: Glamsterdam is an important planned network upgrade for Ethereum, involving improvements in block production, data access, Gas pricing, and network execution efficiency.
Q3. What is the difference between EIP-8037 and EIP-8038?
Answer: EIP-8037 mainly adjusts the Gas cost of creating new state, while EIP-8038 mainly adjusts the Gas cost of accessing existing state. Together they change the resource pricing method for some smart contract operations.
Q4. Will the Glamsterdam upgrade cause old smart contracts to fail?
Answer: Not all old contracts will be affected, but some contracts that rely on fixed Gas limits or specific execution conditions may experience abnormalities. Developers need to conduct compatibility testing in advance.