Crypto News: Ethereum Delays Fork as Bitcoin Hashrate Hits 7-Month High

Ethereum developers postponed the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi testnet after ChainSecurity identified gas-related risks affecting existing smart contracts. Originally scheduled for Oct. 26, the delayed upgrade gives developers more time to examine interactions between proposed changes and deployed contracts, while leaving the potential early-December mainnet timeline uncertain.

The warning centered on EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, which ChainSecurity said could weaken protections against insufficient gas griefing attacks. Ethereum Foundation representatives said researchers need to determine how the proposals influence contract behavior when transactions fail, making additional Hoodi testing necessary before a mainnet schedule can be finalized.

Bitcoin’s seven-day average network hashrate climbed above 1 zettahash per second for the first time since March 3, reaching a seven-month high despite major mining companies redirecting resources toward AI. Difficulty rose 5.92% on Oct. 16, and BlocksBridge Consulting projects another 5.16% increase at the next adjustment, potentially bringing the two-period increase to 11.4%.

The mining sector’s shift toward AI is evident in financial results cited by BlocksBridge: publicly traded miners reported a 23% decline in realized hashrate, while AI-related revenue rose 52% quarter over quarter. The firm estimates that about $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin mining equipment has been displaced by the transition. Meanwhile, Starknet voters approved research into making the network an independent layer-1 blockchain.