The future is already here. The protocol branch of the Ethereum Foundation has published its ranking of proposed improvements for Hegotá, the update that will succeed Glamsterdam. Only two changes obtain the S rank, reserved for elements considered essential. This selection is part of a much broader project. The Foundation wants to make the core layer of the network resistant to future quantum computers by December 2029. Hegotá will not achieve this transformation alone, but must lay several essential foundations to meet this schedule. Explanations.
Key Points
The Ethereum Foundation Protocol Cluster noted 62 EIPs for Hegotá: 2 in tier S, 15 in tier A, 28 rejected
EIP-7805 (FOCIL) makes censoring transactions much more difficult by imposing inclusion lists validated by a committee
EIP-8141 (Frame Transactions) registers native account abstraction in the protocol: stablecoin fees, bulk operations, account recovery
Target set for December 2029: quantum resistance on the execution, consensus and data layers of L1 Ethereum
FOCIL and Frame Transactions at the heart of the Hegotá update
The ranking published by the Ethereum Foundation divides the 62 proposals into several categories. Two get S rank and must define Hegotá. Fifteen others are classified A and should accompany them, barring major difficulties during development. Eight remain under study, seven are considered secondary and two are awaiting additional data. Finally, 28 are not retained for this update.
The first priority, EIP-7805, is called FOCIL. Today, the preparation of Ethereum blocks largely depends on specialized builders, who choose the transactions to integrate. This concentration can facilitate censorship if a dominant actor decides to ignore certain operations.
FOCIL would allow multiple validators to provide lists of transactions to be mandatory included. A constructor would retain responsibility for preparing the block, but would no longer be able to so easily dismiss a valid, public transaction. The system thus aims to reduce dependence on a handful of intermediaries.
The second priority, EIP-8141, introduces Frame Transactions. This new format must make several stages of an operation programmable: verification of the signature, payment of fees and the execution itself.
For the user, this development could facilitate the use of personalized signatures, the grouping of several actions or the payment of costs by a third party. Above all, it must allow Ethereum to adopt new signature methods without imposing a new major modification to the protocol each time. The Ethereum Foundation considers the joint delivery of FOCIL and Frame Transactions to be Hegotá’s main technical challenge.
Ethereum is now preparing for the quantum threat
The Ethereum Foundation has set itself the objective of making the execution, consensus and data layers of the network resistant to quantum computers before December 2029. This deadline is deliberately based on a cautious hypothesis: the possible arrival, as early as 2030, of a machine capable of threatening certain current cryptographic methods.
A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could in theory find certain private keys from public information and compromise the signatures used by accounts or validators. No such machine exists today, and the Ethereum Foundation acknowledges that most estimates place this threat later. She nevertheless prefers to prepare for migration without waiting for certainty.
Hegotá will therefore not be the update that makes Ethereum fully quantum resistant. Its role includes making accounts more flexible so that new signature systems can be introduced more easily. The following stages, provisionally named I*, J*, K* and L*, must continue this transition.
The schedule remains particularly tight. Starting with a Glamsterdam deployment planned for the end of 2026, Ethereum should carry out a new major update every seven to nine months to achieve its objective. Research and development will therefore have to advance simultaneously on several versions of the protocol. The roadmap published by the Ethereum Foundation specifies that this deadline will be reassessed with external experts in January 2027.
Quantum resistance constitutes one of the five major projects undertaken. The others concern completing transactions faster, privacy, managing the growing volume of data, and developing a system to verify blocks using cryptographic proofs rather than replaying all operations.
