Ethereum Preps Last 'Normal' Fork: Hegota Upgrade Set to Boost Transaction Inclusion
The Ethereum network is planning its last 'normal' fork, called Hegota, which will introduce stronger transaction inclusion and more account control. According to Vitalik Buterin, Hegota is likely to be the last upgrade whose technology would still be recognizable to someone who followed Ethereum in 2015.
The main changes scheduled for Hegota are FOCIL (EIP-7805) and frame transactions (EIP-8141). FOCIL will spread transaction inclusion decisions across a committee of validators, rather than leaving one block builder in control. Frame transactions will allow an account to use its own verification rules instead of following only the current account model.
Buterin's vision for Ethereum's future is a 'cryptographic world computer,' where nodes would sample data through PeerDAS and verify a cryptographic proof that the block was executed correctly. This would reduce the work required from nodes while preserving direct verification, allowing light clients to check data availability and computation themselves.
However, Buterin acknowledged that zero-knowledge proofs remain difficult to make efficient and safe, and he also expects access to very large amounts of state to be an even harder challenge. Crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro questioned whether financial services will demand continuous cryptographic verification when many rely on reputation, regulation, and legal enforcement.