The cryptocurrency landscape experienced a wave of significant developments as core development teams, network validators, and governance communities adjusted to shifting technical and economic realities. Ethereum developers pumped the brakes on an upcoming testnet upgrade following security warnings regarding smart contract safety. Simultaneously, the Bitcoin network witnessed a surprising surge in mining competition despite a widespread industry migration toward artificial intelligence infrastructure. In the layer-2 ecosystem, Starknet community members delivered a resounding verdict in favor of researching an independent future outside of Ethereum.
Ethereum delays Glamsterdam Hoodi testnet launch over security risks
Ethereum developers have officially postponed the scheduled Glamsterdam hard fork on the Hoodi testnet. The decision comes in the wake of critical warnings from blockchain security researchers who identified potential gas-related vulnerabilities that could fundamentally alter how existing smart contracts handle failed transactions and edge cases.
According to statements from the Ethereum Foundation (EF), the network upgrade, which had originally been slated for rollout on October 26, is being delayed indefinitely to grant core developers sufficient time to thoroughly investigate how specific upgrade proposals interact with complex smart contracts already deployed across the Ethereum network.
The security concerns first came to light on October 13, when prominent blockchain security firm ChainSecurity published an advisory warning the community that two distinct proposals integrated into the Glamsterdam package—specifically designated as EIP-8037 and EIP-8038—could inadvertently weaken vital existing safeguards against a specific vector known as insufficient gas griefing attacks.
This unexpected postponement introduces a notable layer of uncertainty regarding the ultimate timeline for the Glamsterdam mainnet release. Prior to the security advisory, Ethereum core developers had been actively contemplating an early December deployment window, with the explicit understanding that a finalized schedule would only be locked in after observing the success of the upgrade on the Hoodi testnet. With the initial testnet deployment now stalled, developers must first resolve the underlying gas mechanics before charting a path forward for the broader network.
Bitcoin mining competition heats up despite AI exodus
While segments of the blockchain infrastructure sector grapple with code-level security concerns, the Bitcoin mining ecosystem is experiencing a counterintuitive surge in network difficulty and hashrate intensity. According to data and analysis from BlocksBridge Consulting, Bitcoin’s network hashrate has surged to a dramatic seven-month high, signaling intensely rising competition among miners even as prominent industrial players aggressively redirect their heavy computing capacity toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data centers.
The network’s rolling seven-day average hashrate has successfully climbed back above the threshold of 1 zettahash per second for the first time since March 3. This robust metric suggests that any heavy computing power departing the Bitcoin ecosystem for more lucrative AI horizons is being rapidly replaced and absorbed by incoming or expanding miners.
In the specialized terminology of proof-of-work blockchains, hashrate represents the total aggregate computing power actively securing and processing transactions on the network, while mining difficulty dynamically adjusts to regulate how difficult it is for miners to successfully cryptographically mine new blocks and earn block rewards.
Reflecting this surging competition, mining difficulty experienced a sharp 5.92% upward adjustment on October 16. Furthermore, BlocksBridge analysts have projected an additional 5.16% difficulty increase during the subsequent adjustment window. Combined, these consecutive spikes represent a cumulative 11.4% increase across a remarkably short timeframe, making it significantly harder for individual miners to secure rewards and maintain operational profitability.
This intense upward pressure on difficulty arrives despite widespread reports from publicly traded mining corporations indicating a collective 23% decline in their realized hashrate capacity. These large-scale entities have increasingly pivoted their operations toward artificial intelligence infrastructure, capitalizing on soaring demand for specialized data center space. Consequently, their combined AI-related revenue surged by 52% on a quarter-over-quarter basis.
Industry estimates compiled by BlocksBridge suggest that approximately $1.5 billion worth of specialized mining hardware has been actively displaced by this corporate migration toward AI. However, rather than sitting idle, a significant portion of this hardware is finding a second life. Smaller, independent miners who possess access to lower-cost electricity sources are acquiring the discounted equipment, allowing them to expand their operations and consolidate their footprint precisely as larger enterprise competitors pursue artificial intelligence opportunities.
Starknet voters back research into life beyond Ethereum
Beyond the base layers of Ethereum and Bitcoin, governance participants within the Starknet ecosystem have made a monumental statement regarding the network’s long-term architectural trajectory. In a decisive non-binding governance vote that concluded on Thursday, Starknet community members overwhelmingly backed formal research into transitioning the network into an independent, post-quantum layer-1 blockchain.
The governance proposal, which ran for a duration of seven days, attracted historic levels of engagement. The poll drew approximately 3,200 participating votes, with an overwhelming 93.52% of the aggregate voting power cast in favor of exploring an independent existence outside of the Ethereum ecosystem.
According to StarkWare, the pioneering development firm behind the scaling solution, this turnout represents the highest level of voter participation in Starknet’s governance history. StarkWare noted that it deliberately abstained from participating in the vote, choosing instead to leave the strategic decision entirely in the hands of the decentralized community.
The decisive outcome of the poll grants authorization for StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation to officially allocate resources toward comprehensive research into building an independent layer-1 blockchain architecture. However, any actual migration away from Ethereum would require a completely separate, legally and technically binding governance vote in the future. For the foreseeable future, Starknet will continue to operate as a specialized layer-2 validity rollup anchored to Ethereum.
"We’re beginning work on a whitepaper even before we start the weekend, and hope to release a draft for public scrutiny in November," StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson stated.
