Ethereum news today is dominated by two compounding headwinds that have kept the asset pinned below $2,400 heading into late October: the indefinite postponement of the Glamsterdam protocol upgrade and a back-to-back run of institutional outflows from spot ETFs.
Ethereum developers delayed the Glamsterdam upgrade’s Hoodi testnet launch on October 22, just four days before its scheduled activation. The decision followed a ChainSecurity analysis warning that two gas-accounting changes bundled into the upgrade could harm contracts already running on the network.
Specifically,
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 found that Glamsterdam’s gas rules could break assumptions contracts use to handle failed external calls, identifying 13 real-world examples in which the changes could let contracts permanently record a failed operation that their code was intended to keep retryable.
The postponement covers both components of Glamsterdam: the Amsterdam execution-layer upgrade and the Gloas consensus-layer upgrade.
Beyond the immediate testnet halt,
the upgrade includes enshrined proposer-builder separation, which brings coordination between block proposers and builders into the protocol, as well as block-level access lists that help clients process state access and validation more efficiently.
Those features now have no confirmed delivery window.
Developers had discussed potential December activation dates for mainnet, but the schedule had not been finalized.
The update affects a testing network, and ETH holders do not need to take any action.
The upgrade drama is arriving alongside notable selling pressure in regulated products.
U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs experienced net outflows of $88.58 million on October 26, 2026, reversing a brief period of inflows, with BlackRock’s ETHA fund leading withdrawals at $104.71 million, while Fidelity’s FETH was the only fund to see inflows, attracting $16.13 million.
The selling continued into the following session.
U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs posted $60.22 million in net outflows on October 27, a second consecutive session of withdrawals, with ETHA’s $93.28 million outflow outweighing inflows into FETH and ETH.
On that same day, Bitcoin ETFs recorded strong inflows of $176 million, led by BlackRock’s IBIT with $151 million
— a stark divergence that underscores the relative institutional preference for Bitcoin right now.
Despite the pressure, price has not collapsed.
At 7 a.m. Eastern Time on October 28, Ethereum was trading at $2,363.28, a $51.75 increase from the day prior.
ETH was down approximately 11.59% from one month ago
, reflecting a prolonged slide from the highs seen in September. On-chain data offers one potential counterpoint to the selling narrative:
Santiment reported a net exchange withdrawal of 169,770 ETH on October 23
, a move that on-chain analysts often associate with holders moving coins to self-custody rather than positioning to sell.
Also making headlines on October 27,
Dutch households were found to hold €300 million in ETH, representing the first official tally showing significant direct Ethereum holdings in a major economy.
Meanwhile, a large wallet made a notable accumulation move:
an Ethereum whale purchased 4,000 ETH worth $9.4 million and deposited the tokens into Aave, bringing its total ETH deposits to 22,504 while stablecoin borrowing reached $31 million.
For holders and traders watching Ethereum news today, the near-term picture is a balancing act. The Glamsterdam delay removes what had been an anticipated technical catalyst, and consecutive ETF outflows — particularly the size of ETHA’s redemptions — suggest institutional appetite has cooled. The key numbers to watch:
total net assets across all Ethereum spot ETFs now stand at $14.2 billion, with cumulative historical net inflows having reached $12.6 billion since launch
— a figure that gives a sense of just how much institutional capital is still committed to the asset even as short-term flows turn negative. Traders should track any announcement from the Ethereum Foundation regarding a rescheduled Hoodi testnet date, as a confirmed timeline would restore a meaningful technical upgrade catalyst that the market is currently pricing out.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Crypto prices are volatile; always do your own research.