Ethereum news today centers on a double blow that has kept ETH pinned below $2,400: a last-minute postponement of the Glamsterdam protocol upgrade and another wave of heavy institutional selling through spot ETFs. Together, these developments are shaping how holders and traders are reading the near-term outlook for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Ethereum developers postponed the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi testnet over smart contract compatibility concerns, canceling its October 26 activation and a planned increase to a 200 million gas limit.
The decision followed discussions during the All Core Developers Execution meeting, where developers agreed to investigate how EIP-8037 interacts with existing mainnet contracts.
On October 13, blockchain security firm ChainSecurity warned that two proposals included in Glamsterdam — EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 — could weaken protections against an attack known as “insufficient gas griefing.”
ChainSecurity says it has found 13 real-world smart contracts that could be affected and is working with those projects on responsible disclosure.
The timing is significant.
This delay has also introduced uncertainty into the Glamsterdam mainnet timeline. Ethereum developers had previously been considering scheduling the mainnet upgrade for early December, with plans to finalize the schedule following a successful Hoodi test.
A December mainnet launch is still possible, with a revised Hoodi date expected after Devcon on November 3 to 6.
Crucially for regular users,
mainnet users and ETH holders do not need to take action, but node and validator operators must update their client software.
The upgrade delay arrived alongside a fresh round of institutional selling.
U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $110.6 million in withdrawals on October 22.
BlackRock’s ETHA saw the largest withdrawal at $75.5 million, contributing to a seven-day outflow total of $484.6 million.
Total ETF outflows in October have surpassed $1 billion, reducing cumulative net inflows for the year.
That said, there was a brief flicker of relief on October 23:
Ethereum ETFs pulled in $4.35 million, the third inflow this month, with Fidelity leading at $3.58 million and Morgan Stanley adding $773.44 thousand.
On-chain activity added to the selling narrative.
Blockchain tracker Lookonchain reported that an early investor sold 3,000 ETH worth $7.23 million.
Lookonchain also identified 6,400 ETH as the largest component of transactions linked to Arthur Hayes’s Maelstrom fund in an October 24 post, valuing that Ethereum at $15.2 million, with Hayes subsequently confirming he had taken profits on ETH and several other tokens.
Away from the upgrade drama, a broader ecosystem story is developing that Ethereum holders should monitor closely.
Starknet’s seven-day governance vote closed October 22 with 93.52% of voting power supporting research into an independent layer-1 blockchain.
The result does not approve a migration from Ethereum layer 2 to layer 1; instead, it triggers a research effort intended to produce more detailed proposals for a future governance decision, with a draft white paper scheduled for public scrutiny in November.
CEO Eli Ben-Sasson has set a 2027 target for Starknet to become quantum-safe, saying Ethereum’s stated 2029 target leaves the network exposed to delays in its underlying blockchain’s upgrades.
While this is not an imminent departure, it signals that Ethereum’s Layer 2 ecosystem is beginning to probe its long-term dependency on the base chain’s security roadmap.
For traders watching price action,
Ethereum’s price has remained under pressure near $2,400 on October 23 as renewed ETF withdrawals, selling by an early investor, and cautious market sentiment complicated the cryptocurrency’s recovery.
Ethereum’s RSI stood at 39.83, with $2,350 support and $2,500 resistance in focus.
What to watch next: the rescheduled Glamsterdam Hoodi date expected after Devcon in early November, the pace of ETF inflows or outflows in the days ahead, and whether the Starknet draft whitepaper in November adds further pressure on Ethereum’s narrative as the go-to settlement layer for zero-knowledge rollups. For now, the protocol’s deliberate caution on Glamsterdam — though disruptive to timelines — underscores that Ethereum’s developers remain unwilling to rush a major throughput upgrade at the cost of smart contract safety.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Crypto prices are volatile; always do your own research.