Ethereum’s Next Upgrade Changes How Much You Pay to Send ETH

Sending ETH won’t always cost the same anymore. Ethereum developers have told wallets and crypto tools to stop assuming every basic transfer costs 21,000 gas, the standard measure of network effort paid in ETH.

New Wallets Cost More Than Old Ones

That flat number applied no matter who received the funds. Under the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade, sending to an existing address still costs 21,000 gas. But sending to a wallet that’s never been used before will cost extra, since the network has to create and store that account permanently. The added cost sits at 183,600 units under a new category called state gas.

Why It Matters for Wallets

Software built around 21,000 as a fixed number could start rejecting payments or showing wrong fees once this rolls out.

The change goes live first on the Platåberget test network this Thursday, followed by Sepolia and Hoodi, before reaching Ethereum’s main network. Regular users don’t need to do anything yet.