Ethereum’s Glamsterdam Test Looms as ETH Leverage Builds
Ethereum is approaching a significant test of its 2026 scaling roadmap just as leverage is returning to the ETH derivatives market.
Summary:
- Glamsterdam reaches Ethereum Sepolia on Oct. 6 at 13:53:36 UTC, moving the upgrade into its next public testing phase.
- EIP-7732 and EIP-7928 target different scaling constraints, from block construction to parallel state access.
- ETH is approaching its September resistance zone with momentum strengthening but RSI still below 70.
- Rising open interest shows traders adding leverage as ETH returns to an important technical area.
Glamsterdam is scheduled to activate on the Sepolia testnet on Oct. 6 at 13:53:36 UTC, according to the Ethereum Foundation. The upgrade combines Amsterdam on the execution layer with Gloas on the consensus layer and targets several constraints that become increasingly important as Ethereum raises Layer 1 capacity.
At the same time, ETH has recovered sharply from its mid-September lows. The supplied daily chart shows the asset approaching the upper end of the range established after September’s rally, while derivatives open interest has increased 3.86% over the past 24 hours.
The two developments are not causally linked. But they leave Ethereum with separate technical and market tests over the coming days: Sepolia needs to absorb changes to block construction and state access, while ETH needs to show whether its recovery can survive a growing amount of leveraged positioning.
Glamsterdam Targets Ethereum’s Next Scaling Constraint
Glamsterdam is less about introducing a new user-facing feature than changing how Ethereum uses the resources available inside each block.
Two proposals sit at the center of that work.
EIP-7732, known as enshrined proposer-builder separation, brings the division between block proposers and builders into Ethereum’s protocol. Builders produce execution payloads while proposers handle the consensus side of block production, reducing reliance on external infrastructure for that relationship.
The design also gives execution payloads more time to propagate through the network. Ethereum’s roadmap describes an effective expansion of the propagation window from roughly two seconds to around nine seconds, creating additional room for larger blocks and more data without forcing execution and propagation into the same narrow interval.
EIP-7928, meanwhile, introduces Block-Level Access Lists. These provide nodes with information about which parts of Ethereum’s state a block reads or modifies.
That matters for parallelization. Operations that do not depend on the same state can potentially be processed simultaneously instead of every task being handled sequentially. The same information can also support parallel disk reads and faster synchronization.
Glamsterdam therefore attacks two different bottlenecks: how blocks are assembled and propagated, and how efficiently nodes can process the work inside them.
State growth remains part of the equation. Ethereum’s roadmap describes a target growth rate of roughly 120 GiB per year, with Glamsterdam including gas-pricing changes intended to make the cost of creating and accessing state better reflect its long-term burden on nodes.
Arbitrum Turns Sepolia Into a Compatibility Test
The consequences of those changes already extend beyond Ethereum clients.
Offchain Labs has instructed operators running Arbitrum Sepolia nodes, or Arbitrum chains settling on Ethereum Sepolia, to upgrade to Nitro v3.11.4 or higher before Glamsterdam activates.
The reason is unusually concrete. Glamsterdam adds Ethereum block-header fields associated with EIP-7928 and EIP-7843. Older Nitro versions cannot decode those fields and correctly reproduce the canonical parent-chain block hash.
Affected Arbitrum chains also need to pause their batch posters roughly 15 minutes before activation and restart them shortly afterward.
A batch created using pre-fork gas assumptions but included after activation could otherwise run out of gas under the new pricing rules and repeatedly fail. The sequencer can continue producing blocks during the pause, meaning the procedure itself should not interrupt transaction processing on the affected chain.
That gives the Oct. 6 fork a broader purpose. Ethereum clients need to agree on the new protocol rules, but infrastructure consuming Ethereum blocks also needs to interpret those changes correctly.
Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova are not affected by the Sepolia activation because they settle on Ethereum mainnet.
Glamsterdam Rollout: Where Ethereum Stands
successful activation, client compatibility and stable downstream infrastructure before developers move to the next network.
ETH Returns to Its September Resistance Zone
The market setup is becoming more demanding at the same time.
ETH’s daily chart shows a recovery from approximately $2,400 in mid-September, followed by a rapid move through $2,600 and an initial attempt to break above $2,750.
That advance stalled close to $2,800. Ethereum subsequently spent several sessions consolidating around $2,680-$2,700 before buyers returned.
The latest daily session reached a high of $2,773.97, bringing ETH back into the $2,760-$2,800 resistance zone established during the previous advance.
That zone is more useful than focusing on a single closing price. A sustained break above it would establish a higher recovery high.
READ MORE: Strategy, Strive and BitMine Push the Crypto Treasury Trade Further
Another rejection would keep ETH within the range that has controlled price action since late September.
The nearest visible support sits around $2,680, followed by the previous breakout area near $2,640.
Momentum has strengthened alongside the recovery. The 14-day Relative Strength Index stands at 67.18, above its RSI moving average of 64.92.
RSI remains below 70, the conventional threshold for an overbought reading, but the distance has narrowed considerably. That makes the reaction around resistance particularly useful: price is approaching the previous high with substantially stronger momentum than during the preceding consolidation.
New Leverage Is Entering the ETH Market
The derivatives market is reinforcing that setup.
At the time of writing the total ETH open interest has risen 3.86% over the past 24 hours to $19.1 billion, according to data from Coinalyze. Perpetual contracts account for $18.8 billion, while conventional futures represent approximately $279.9 million.
The exchange distribution is heavily concentrated:
- Binance: $9.9 billion
- Hyperliquid: $3.3 billion
- Bybit: $2.6 billion
- OKX: $1.9 billion
- Huobi: $742.7 million
- Deribit: $482.2 million
The useful signal is the combination of price and positioning.
ETH has been advancing while open interest expands, indicating that new derivatives positions are being created rather than the move being driven entirely by traders closing existing exposure.
That does not establish whether traders are predominantly long or short. Open interest measures outstanding positions, not their directional bias. Funding rates, long-short positioning and liquidation data would be needed to determine whether leverage is becoming materially crowded on one side.
It does mean more leveraged capital is exposed to whatever happens around resistance.
If ETH clears $2,800 while open interest continues rising, the market would be establishing higher prices alongside expanding participation. If resistance holds and price reverses sharply, the larger pool of leveraged positions creates more potential for liquidations to amplify the move.
The next evidence arrives on two different clocks.
For Ethereum’s developers, Oct. 6 is about execution: whether Sepolia activates cleanly, clients remain synchronized and downstream systems such as Arbitrum handle the changed block structure without unexpected failures.
For the ETH market, the answer could arrive earlier. The important signals are whether buyers can absorb supply between $2,760 and $2,800 and whether the increase in derivatives exposure persists once that range is tested.
The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coinspress.com does not promote or advocate for any particular investment strategy, asset, or cryptocurrency project. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and unpredictable – always perform your own research and seek guidance from a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Alexander Zdravkov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alexander Zdravkov is a market analyst and crypto journalist with interests in economics, broader financial markets and digital assets. His journey into crypto began more than four years ago, driven by a fascination with the rapid evolution of blockchain technology and the transformative potential of decentralized finance. He began analyzing market cycles and identifying emerging trends before they reach the mainstream. He holds a degree in International Relations - a background that helped shape his broader perspective on global economics, geopolitics, and the interconnected nature of modern financial markets. Whether covering the latest developments in the crypto sector or exploring broader macroeconomic themes, Alexander focuses on giving readers context rather than simply repeating headlines. During his career, he has authored more than 10,000 articles covering cryptocurrencies, traditional finance, and global market developments. His work spans everything from Bitcoin and altcoins to macroeconomic trends influencing risk assets worldwide.
