Ethereum’s next major upgrade, Glamsterdam, is set to end a long-standing rule of thumb on the network: not every basic ETH transfer will cost a flat 21,000 gas.
Under the change, sending ETH to an existing account will still cost 21,000 gas. But a transfer to an address that has never been used before will carry an added 183,600 units of a new category known as state gas.
That breaks one of Ethereum’s oldest operating assumptions. Sending ETH will no longer always produce the same network fee.
Wallets and fee tools are being told to update
Developers from the Ethereum Foundation, the nonprofit that supports and maintains Ethereum, said in a blog post that wallet providers, blockchain trackers and fee calculators should update any software built on the assumption that a basic ETH transfer costs 21,000 gas units before Glamsterdam reaches mainnet.
Gas is Ethereum’s unit for measuring how much work a transaction asks the network to perform, with users paying for that work in ETH. CoinDesk’s report listed ETH at $1,897.18.
Today, the 21,000-gas rule applies whether the receiving account has been used before or not. After Glamsterdam, that will split into two cases: transfers to existing accounts will keep the current cost, while transfers to never-before-seen addresses will cost more because the network has to create and permanently store a new account record.
New account creation will add 183,600 state gas
The proposal sets that extra charge at 183,600 units and places it in a new category called state gas.
CoinDesk said years of software have been built around 21,000 as a fixed number. Wallets use it to decide how much gas to attach to a payment. Blockchain services also rely on it when handling transactions.
If a system still treats 21,000 as both the floor and the ceiling for an ETH transfer after the upgrade, it may reject payments that are actually valid or quote fees that fall short.
Developers say the work involved is different
The rationale is that the two transfer types do not require the same amount of work. Paying an account that already exists only updates balances Ethereum is already tracking. Sending funds to a fresh address adds a record that Ethereum’s computers may need to keep forever.
Until now, both actions have carried the same charge. Glamsterdam changes that.
Rollout starts on a test network
Developers still have time to look for issues before mainnet activation. Glamsterdam is scheduled to switch on Thursday on Platåberget, which the report described as a practice version of Ethereum that uses worthless tokens so developers can test safely and break things without consequence.
From there, the upgrade will move to two more test networks, Sepolia and Hoodi, before reaching the live Ethereum network.
No action required this week for ordinary users
The warning is not aimed at people simply sending ETH. CoinDesk said nobody sending ETH needs to do anything this week. The message is directed at the companies whose software those users rely on.