Ethereum is preparing for a major shift in transaction fee mechanics as upcoming hard forks dismantle the long-standing assumption that a simple ETH transfer always costs exactly 21,000 gas. The Ethereum Foundation has issued warnings to wallet developers, gas-fee calculators, and blockchain explorers, urging them to update their systems before the changes go live.
The first change comes with the Glamsterdam hard fork, delayed to the fourth quarter. Under this upgrade, transfers to existing addresses will still require 21,000 gas, but transfers to new addresses will incur an additional state gas fee of approximately 183,600 gas. This extra cost covers the creation and permanent storage of new state data when an address is used for the first time, aligning fees more closely with actual computational and storage resources consumed.
Separately, the Fusaka hard fork, expected in late 2026, introduces Ethereum Object Format (EOF) and PeerDAS. As part of this upgrade, the intrinsic gas for a basic ETH transfer will increase from 21,000 to 26,000 gas. Core developers argue the increase is necessary to account for extra computational overhead of EOF-format transactions and to prevent potential denial-of-service vectors.
Many wallets, exchanges, and dapps currently hardcode the 21,000 gas baseline to estimate fees and validate transactions. If they are not updated, users could face failed transactions, especially when sending ETH to new addresses for the first time. Gas-fee calculators and explorers may also display inaccurate estimates. Developers are advised to review and update gas estimation logic, monitor testnet deployments, and follow Ethereum Foundation announcements for final parameters.
The coordinated updates across the ecosystem will be essential to minimize disruption. Users should ensure their software is current to avoid transaction failures during the transition.
