Ethereum Upgrade Glamsterdam Breaks Long-Standing Network Fee Rule
Ethereum's upcoming upgrade, Glamsterdam, is set to break one of its oldest rules of thumb regarding network fees. The Ethereum Foundation has informed wallet makers and blockchain trackers that software built on the assumption that a basic ETH transfer costs 21,000 gas units needs to be updated.
Currently, sending ether (ETH) costs 21,000 gas units regardless of whether the receiving account is new or existing. However, under Glamsterdam, sending to an existing account will still cost 21,000 units, while sending to a new address will incur an additional charge due to the network's need to create and store a permanent record.
This extra charge is proposed at 183,600 units of state gas. The developers have until Thursday when Glamsterdam switches on the practice version of Ethereum, Platåberget, to find any potential problems before it reaches two more test networks, Sepolia and Hoodi, and then the main Ethereum network.