The global cryptocurrency landscape experienced a wave of significant developments today, highlighted by technical caution on Ethereum, surging competition within the Bitcoin mining sector, and a landmark governance vote by Starknet community members. Together, these events underscore the ongoing evolution, technical hurdles, and strategic pivots shaping major blockchain networks and infrastructure providers.
Ethereum developers have chosen to postpone the upcoming Glamsterdam hard fork on the Hoodi testnet. The decision follows serious warnings from prominent blockchain security researchers regarding gas-related vulnerabilities that could fundamentally impact how existing smart contracts handle failed transactions. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin mining ecosystem is displaying unexpected resilience and intensifying competition. Even as major corporate players redirect massive amounts of computing power toward artificial intelligence infrastructure, Bitcoin’s overall network hashrate has climbed to a seven-month high. In a separate development that could reshape the layer-2 landscape, Starknet voters have overwhelmingly backed a proposal to research a future as an independent, post-quantum layer-1 blockchain, marking a historic moment for community-driven governance in the ecosystem.
Ethereum delays Glamsterdam Hoodi testnet launch over security risks
Ethereum developers have officially postponed the scheduled Glamsterdam hard fork on the Hoodi testnet after external security auditors identified potential gas-related risks. The primary concern centers on how the proposed protocol changes might alter the execution environment and affect the ways existing smart contracts manage failed transactions.
The Ethereum Foundation announced that the network upgrade, which had originally been scheduled to take place on October 26, would be delayed indefinitely. This pause provides core developers with the necessary time to thoroughly investigate how specific improvement proposals interact with the vast array of decentralized applications and smart contracts already deployed on Ethereum.
The security concerns first came to light on October 13, when blockchain security firm ChainSecurity published a formal warning. The advisory highlighted that two specific proposals included in the Glamsterdam upgrade package—designated as EIP-8037 and EIP-8038—could inadvertently weaken existing security safeguards designed to protect users and protocols against a specific class of attack known as insufficient gas griefing.
This unexpected postponement introduces a notable degree of uncertainty regarding the overarching timeline for bringing the Glamsterdam upgrade to the mainnet. Prior to the security warning, Ethereum core developers had been eyeing an early December deployment window, with the explicit plan to finalize a concrete rollout schedule only after completing successful and exhaustive testing phases on the Hoodi testnet. The foundation has not yet announced a revised date for the testnet fork, emphasizing that security and network stability remain the absolute top priorities before proceeding with any mainnet integration.
Bitcoin mining competition heats up despite AI exodus
Even as major publicly traded mining corporations continue to reallocate their substantial computing resources toward the booming artificial intelligence sector, Bitcoin’s network hashrate has climbed to a remarkable seven-month high. According to data and insights from BlocksBridge Consulting, this trend points to a surge in underlying competition across the global mining landscape.
Bitcoin’s seven-day moving average hashrate has successfully crossed back above the threshold of 1 zettahash per second for the first time since March 3. This milestone strongly suggests that the heavy computational power leaving the network as firms pivot toward AI data centers is being rapidly replaced and even surpassed by other mining entities entering the space or expanding their operations.
Hashrate serves as the primary metric for measuring the total computational power actively securing the Bitcoin network, whereas mining difficulty is the algorithmic parameter that dictates how computationally demanding it is for miners to discover new blocks and earn newly minted Bitcoin rewards.
Reflecting this intense computational pressure, the network’s mining difficulty experienced a 5.92% upward adjustment on October 16. Furthermore, BlocksBridge has projected yet another difficulty increase of 5.16% at the subsequent adjustment interval. Combined, these successive adjustments represent an estimated 11.4% total increase in mining difficulty across a short span, making it considerably harder for individual miners to secure block rewards.
This competitive tightening occurs despite reports indicating that major publicly traded mining companies have collectively suffered a 23% decline in realized hashrate as they actively redirect hardware and infrastructure toward high-performance computing and AI data centers. At the same time, these firms have seen their AI-related revenue streams expand by 52% quarter over quarter.
BlocksBridge estimates that approximately $1.5 billion worth of specialized mining equipment has been displaced by this ongoing corporate transition. However, a significant portion of this displaced hardware is finding new life in the hands of smaller, independent miners who possess access to lower-cost electricity. These smaller operators are utilizing the surplus equipment to scale up their operations while their larger, publicly traded counterparts pursue more lucrative opportunities in the artificial intelligence market.
Starknet voters back research into life beyond Ethereum
In a decisive and historic governance move, the Starknet community has voted overwhelmingly in favor of backing comprehensive research into transitioning the network into an independent, post-quantum layer-1 blockchain.
The prospect of Starknet potentially severing its technical ties as an Ethereum layer-2 network and charting an independent course drew massive engagement from token holders. The non-binding governance vote, which ran for a duration of seven days, officially concluded on Thursday. The poll captured the highest level of voter participation in Starknet’s history, according to development firm StarkWare, drawing approximately 3,200 total votes. An overwhelming 93.52% of the participating voting power was cast in favor of supporting the research initiative. StarkWare noted that it intentionally abstained from casting votes in the poll, choosing instead to leave the strategic decision entirely in the hands of the decentralized community.
The successful outcome of the vote authorizes StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation to officially commence formal research into the architecture and feasibility of an independent layer-1 network. However, any actual migration or architectural shift away from Ethereum would require a separate, entirely binding governance vote in the future. For the foreseeable future, Starknet will continue to operate as an Ethereum layer-2 scaling network while the exploratory research is conducted.
Speaking on the community’s decisive mandate, StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson stated that preparatory work on a whitepaper would begin immediately, with the objective of releasing an initial draft for public review and scrutiny as early as November.
