Glamsterdam Testnet Activation Set for October 6 Amid Cheap Builder Attack Concerns

Ethereum's Glamsterdam upgrade has been set to run on its first public testnet, Sepolia, on October 6. The deployment marks a critical checkpoint before a potential mainnet launch.

However, consensus developer Potuz warned that the Sepolia test could be vulnerable to attacks using worthless test tokens to game the block-building process. This is due to the fact that test ether is free and abundant, removing the usual cost-based deterrents.

The Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) mechanism, a core component of Glamsterdam, separates the job of constructing transaction blocks from the job of validating them. Builders submit bids for block construction, but without economic stakes on the Sepolia testnet, attackers can exploit this system.