Ethereum core developers have moved into the planning stage for the network’s next annual upgrade, known as Hegotá. In a post on X, Ethereum developer Toni Wahrstätter said 66 Ethereum Improvement Proposals, or EIPs, have already entered the candidate pool for the upgrade, with core developer calls set to narrow the list in the coming months.
The goal is to determine which proposals can be implemented, tested on devnets, deployed on testnets, and still have a realistic path to shipping in 2027. Any proposal that misses the Hegotá window will be deferred to the next hard fork. According to the description shared by developers, the screening process matters because it will shape Ethereum’s direction over the next phase of development.
FOCIL already has a place in Hegotá
One proposal area is no longer up for debate. FOCIL, short for Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists, has already been locked in as one of the major components of Hegotá.
Developers also identified privacy as a major theme for the upgrade. They said framed transactions under EIP-8141, keyed nonces under EIP-8250, and root references under EIP-8272 could work together to support native privacy features, allowing privacy applications to operate without relying on third-party intermediaries.
Scaling proposals target future gas limit expansion
Scaling is another central focus. Developers proposed repricing data resources through EIP-8131 and EIP-8279, along with repricing the cost of state growth through EIP-8368, as groundwork for a future increase of Ethereum’s gas limit to 600 million.
Those changes may be less visible than privacy features, but they were described as key short-term work for improving Ethereum’s scaling capacity.
Candidate list also includes block time, issuance and EVM changes
Other proposals under consideration include shorter block times through EIP-8198, issuance mechanism changes through EIP-8363, anti-correlation penalties through EIP-7716, as well as EVM optimization and simplification.
The candidate set also includes the first round of discussion around EIPs tied to zkEVM and post-quantum cryptography.
Core team still faces trade-offs
Developers said Hegotá will not be able to include every feature the community wants. The core team will need to balance long-term vision against upgrades that can actually be delivered in the near term, which means most of the candidate EIPs may ultimately fail to make it into this fork.
Ethereum’s current Glamsterdam upgrade began 256 days ago and is still targeting deployment by the end of this year. Hegotá, by contrast, is planned for 2027.
Over the next several months, core developers and the broader community are expected to debate the priority of each proposal. Community feedback will remain part of the selection process, and participants who support or oppose the inclusion of a given EIP in Hegotá can present their views through public discussion with the core development team.