Ethereum Co-Founder Hints at End of Traditional Forks with Hegotá Upgrade

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, believes that the upcoming Hegotá upgrade may be the last 'normal' fork in the Ethereum network. This transition would mark a significant shift in how the network operates.

The Hegotá upgrade, planned for 2027, is seen as a bridge towards a broader change: Ethereum moving from a traditional blockchain to a 'cryptographic world computer.' In this system, cryptographic proofs will be used to verify offchain computation and preserve privacy.

This concept was first introduced with PeerDAS, which allows nodes to verify data availability by sampling pieces of data instead of requiring full downloads. Buterin sees this as the start of Ethereum's evolution towards a more powerful platform.

However, some experts are skeptical about the adoption of proof-heavy architectures in decentralized finance (DeFi). They question whether there is enough demand for continuous cryptographic verification and point out that many financial processes rely on reputation, regulation, and legal enforcement rather than math-based verification.