ACDT #99 · Sepolia fork ready
AllCoreDevs - Testing #099 · 2026-10-05
The Glamsterdam upgrade is one day away from its first public testnet deployment
With the Sepolia Glamsterdam fork one day away, at 13:53 UTC on October 6, all clients confirmed they are ready. Builders will not be onboarded before the fork and will instead deposit with regular Sepolia ETH right after it.
Why it matters
This is the first time Glamsterdam goes onto a public testnet, and it marks the start of the final validation stretch before mainnet. The eth_call gas limit bug fix settled alongside it keeps developer tools that rely on large simulations, such as NFT renderers and aggregators, working.
Decisions
- Builder onboarding: On Sepolia, builders will not be onboarded before the fork, and builders are advised to run pre-fork builder tests on Hoodi. This means that right after the fork they can deposit directly with regular Sepolia ETH.
- eth_call gas specification: The eth_call gas limit fix will be tracked in the execution-apis repository, not as an EIP. This means the API repository is responsible for the official specification of RPC behavior.
Discussion
eth_call gas limit bug after EIP-8037
After EIP-8037, which raised the state creation gas cost, Geth's eth_call became bound by the single-transaction limit, breaking tools that depend on large simulations. This was discussed at the EL breakout.
Outcome: Confirmed decision 00:32:11
Sepolia builder onboarding
The day before the fork, they settled whether to activate the builder role introduced in Glamsterdam at the time of the Sepolia fork.
Outcome: Confirmed decision 00:25:50
How client versions are announced right before a fork
With new releases still coming out up to the day before the fork, how node operators are told which version to use came up twice.
Glossary
- Shadow fork: A rehearsal test that copies a real network and runs the fork in advance
- Builder: A role introduced in Glamsterdam that makes a deposit and takes charge of block production
- eth_call: An RPC method that simulates the result of contract execution without sending a transaction
- Last Call: The standardization stage in which an EIP receives final comments before being finalized
- Supernode: A node that stores all data columns, enabling recovery of lost data
- FOCIL: An inclusion list proposal for censorship resistance, being tested on a dedicated devnet
- Bepolia token: The dedicated token required by Sepolia's permissioned validator deposit contract
- DFI: A status label meaning Declined for Inclusion