Ethlabs Outlines Four Key Priorities for Ethereum Hegotá Upgrade

Ethlabs Outlines Priorities for Ethereum’s Upcoming Hegotá Upgrade

The Ethereum research group Ethlabs has put forward four critical priorities for the upcoming Hegotá upgrade, stressing the importance of censorship resistance, faster block timings, native account abstraction, and ongoing Layer 1 scaling. This upgrade follows the previously established Glamsterdam upgrade.

Focus on Key Features

Currently, the only confirmed feature for Hegotá is FOCIL, while Frame Transactions have reached a status of “considered for inclusion”. Among its top priorities, Ethlabs recommends the introduction of Quick Slots, which would shorten Ethereum’s slot time from the current twelve seconds. This change aims for an initial target of eight seconds, with a long-term vision of achieving ten-second slots.

Proposed Improvements

Frame Transactions are noted for their potential to enable a variety of advanced functionalities, including passkeys, sponsored fees, token-determined gas payments, and more efficient upgrades for post-quantum accounts. Ethlabs is advocating for EIP-8131 and EIP-8279 to help manage payload growth and allow for higher gas limits in a secure manner.

Next Steps in Implementation

Execution client teams are expected to provide their rankings for the Hegotá proposals by September 10. Ethlabs released their recommendations in a paper published on August 16, as the development team moves deeper into the scope planning for Hegotá.

Censorship Resistance and Speed

Ethlabs holds a strong position on FOCIL, which utilizes validator-created inclusion lists to improve censorship resistance by making it challenging for specialized block builders to exclude valid transactions. The group emphasizes that attesters would only verify blocks that meet the established inclusion list criteria.

Looking Ahead

As Hegotá is currently slated for 2027, the detailed list of features remains a topic of ongoing discussion. While Ethlabs’ proposed priorities offer insights into the research and development group’s vision, they represent an initial set of recommendations rather than the final upgrade package. Community debate is expected to continue regarding the proposals, particularly EIP-8363, which suggests modifying the issuance mechanism by burning a portion of validator rewards.