Cryptocurrency

Ethereum’s Glamsterdam Upgrade Hits Testnet October 6: Will It Influence ETH Price?

Ethereum's Glamsterdam upgrade arrives on the Sepolia testnet October 6, but ETH sits nearly 45% below its all-time high and traders are split on whether a test run can move real money.

By Sam Daodu
Published October 1, 2026, 3:30pm ET · 3 min read

The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

A person in a dark suit holds a large, silver Ethereum coin between their hands. The coin, featuring the Ethereum logo and 'ethereum' text, emits a blue glow and is surrounded by six circular blue and white icons. These icons, connected to the coin by glowing blue lines, represent financial transactions, mobile payments, partnerships, user networks, and market growth. The background is a dark blue, digitally interconnected network pattern overlaid with a blurred city skyline.
This visual represents Ethereum as a central pillar in the interconnected digital economy, highlighting the various facets of cryptocurrency exchanges and the importance of safeguarding digital assets. © Summit Art Creations / Shutterstock.com

Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) developers have announced that the Glamsterdam upgrade is set to activate on the Sepolia testnet on October 6, 2026. While this test network is used for experiments where the tokens hold no real value, the timeline for the main network launch remains uncertain. As the Glamsterdam upgrade gears up for testing, many ETH holders are left wondering if this rehearsal can positively affect the coin’s price.

Currently, ETH is trading at $2,706 as of October 1, which is about 45% lower than its peak of $4,946 on August 24, 2025. With this scheduled upgrade, ETH buyers are questioning whether they should expect an increase in price or if traders are simply interpreting the developer schedule as a signal to buy.

Glamsterdam Reaches the Sepolia Testnet on October 6, With No Mainnet Date

A person, seen from the back, wearing a white shirt, sits at a white desk. They are holding a piece of paper with handwritten financial charts and looking towards multiple screens. The main monitor, a laptop, a smartphone on a stand, and a tablet all display complex stock market graphs and data against dark backgrounds. A black keyboard and mouse are also visible on the desk.
Kateryna Onyshchuk / Shutterstock.com

The Glamsterdam upgrade is a hard fork, meaning it represents a major change to the software that every node—every computer running Ethereum’s software—must adopt simultaneously. If any node chooses not to implement this upgrade, it will stop following the main Ethereum chain. Consequently, developers first test each fork on networks like Sepolia, where no actual user funds are at risk.

The Sepolia test also includes a gas limit target of 200 million. Gas measures the computational effort required for transactions, while the gas limit determines how much can fit into a single block. Increasing the gas limit can allow more transactions per block, which could lead to lower fees when network activity is high.

However, the upgrade schedule has been delayed in the past, and developers will announce a mainnet date only after the test run completes successfully. Therefore, while October 6 marks an important date for testing, it does not signify a mainnet launch.

Traders Have Watched Glamsterdam for Months, So the Test Date Adds Little

Stock Market Trader Working Investment Charts, Graphs, Ticker, Diagrams Projected on His Face and Reflecting in Glasses. Financial Analyst and Digital Businessman Selling Shorts and Buying Longs

Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com

Ethereum developers plan their upgrades through public forums and release details well in advance, making it easy for traders to stay informed. By the time the testnet goes live, interested traders have likely already adjusted their positions.

In September, ETH experienced fluctuations even before any code related to Glamsterdam was activated. The coin traded between $2,355 and $2,807 throughout the month as the crypto market began to recover from three consecutive quarters of losses. A trader who invested $1,000 in ETH at its September low would now have about $1,149 at $2,706—this gain reflects broader market trends rather than the expected impact of the upgrade.

ETH Needs Users and New Money After Mainnet Before Glamsterdam Moves Its Price

A man in a white collared shirt and brown tie is shown from the chest up, holding a smartphone to his right ear and looking slightly upwards to the right with a thoughtful expression. He has dark hair. The background is a blurred, dark digital display featuring glowing green and red stock market bar charts and scattered financial numbers. Overlaid on the right side of the image are several glowing, interconnected hexagonal icons. The central hexagon prominently displays 'ETF' with 'Exchange Traded Funds' below it. Other hexagons contain symbols like a dollar sign, a hand holding money, an upward-trending bar chart, a circular arrow with a dollar bill, a lightbulb with a checkmark, and a 45% dial.

Joyseulay / Shutterstock.com

Any meaningful price movement from the Glamsterdam upgrade will depend on the mainnet launch and subsequent user engagement. First, applications and users must utilize the expanded block space, followed by lower fees reaching everyday users. Finally, new buyers will need to enter the market as the network becomes increasingly functional.

It’s important to note that a spike in transaction volume may not necessarily indicate genuine user interest. Increased activity could be driven by automated trading bots and spam, clouding the real picture until data can distinguish genuine users from bots. Additionally, much ETH buying occurs on exchanges or through spot Ether ETFs, making it easier to track demand through fund flows than by relying solely on chain activity.

Will the Glamsterdam Upgrade Move ETH’s Price?

In summary, the activation of the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Sepolia testnet on October 6 is unlikely to have a lasting impact on ETH’s price. The test takes place on a network where coins have no real value, the date for the mainnet has not yet been set, and traders have been monitoring Glamsterdam closely for months.

However, there is an inherent risk: if the Sepolia test faces issues, it could delay the mainnet launch further.

If developers confirm a solid mainnet date after a successful test, the Glamsterdam upgrade could become a significant event that affects real stakes. If ETH were to rise above $2,807—a roughly 4% increase—and maintain that level with consistent ETF inflows post-mainnet, it could signal a new wave of interest driven by the improved utility of the network.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

1INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE

Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA(www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org).2The probability of a member receiving $3,000 is 0.028%. If you don’t make a selection in 45 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Members must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. The probability percentage is subject to decrease. Members are only eligible for the Stock Award promotion upon opening their first brokerage account; subsequent cash brokerage accounts are ineligible for the promo, including for members with multiple accounts.

3Other fees, such as exchange fees, may apply. Please view our fee disclosure to view a full listing of fees.

4There are limitations with fractional shares to consider before investing. During market hours fractional share orders are transmitted immediately in the order received. There may be system delays from receipt of your order until execution and market conditions may adversely impact execution prices. Outside of market hours orders are received on a not held basis and will be aggregated for each security then executed in the morning trade window of the next business day at market open. Share will be delivered at an average price received for executing the securities through a single batched order. Fractional shares may not be transferred to another firm. Fractional shares will be sold when a transfer or closure request is initiated. Please consider that selling securities is a taxable event.
Sam Daodu

Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing

All articles →