Community Trust ScoreVerified
Ethereum researchers want to cut out the middlemen. A proposed 2027 upgrade called Hegotá would let privacy pools pay their own transaction fees directly, removing the reliance on third-party relayers that currently keep those pools running.
Toni Wahrstätter from the Ethereum Foundation put two proposals at the top of the priority list: Frame Transactions, tagged as EIP-8141, and Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists, known as FOCIL and tagged EIP-7805. Both are being pushed by the Protocol Architecture team as the core of what Hegotá needs to deliver. Wahrstätter’s framing makes it pretty clear — these aren’t optional extras. They’re the backbone. Frame Transactions would introduce a programmable transaction format, giving wallets far more control over how validation works, how execution happens, and crucially, who pays for gas. That means gas sponsorship becomes possible, alternative signature systems can plug in, and key rotation gets built-in support. All of that feeds directly into account abstraction, which Ethereum developers have been grinding toward for years.
Privacy pools could pay fees on their own.
No relayer needed. No external party touching the transaction. That’s the goal — and it’s a meaningful one. Right now, privacy-focused applications on Ethereum often depend on relayers to submit transactions on behalf of users, which creates a potential leak point. Someone has to know. With Frame Transactions handling fee payment natively, that leak gets patched at the protocol level.
What FOCIL Actually Does
FOCIL is the only Ethereum Improvement Proposal formally scheduled for Hegotá so far. It lets validators publish transaction inclusion lists, which basically forces a layer of accountability into block production. As block building gets more specialized — and it has, fast — there’s a real risk that certain transactions get quietly left out. FOCIL doesn’t make transactions private, and it’s worth being clear about that. But it does add a protocol-level mechanism to resist selective exclusion. Builders can’t just quietly drop a transaction without that omission becoming visible to the network.
The package doesn’t stop there. EIP-8272 introduces Keyed Nonces and Recent Roots, which let wallets run separate transaction sequences and reference recent Ethereum states without needing to pin to a fixed block number. That’s more flexibility for complex transaction flows. EIP-7906, called Transaction Assertions, goes a step further — wallets can define conditions that must hold true during transaction processing. Users get more direct control over what actually happens when they sign something.
There’s still a live debate between EIP-8141 and EIP-8130, a competing account-abstraction proposal. Execution client teams haven’t landed on which design moves forward for testing. Both are on the table.
66 Proposals, One Deadline
Hegotá follows Glamsterdam in Ethereum’s upgrade sequence. It’s meant to tackle privacy, censorship resistance, and account abstraction together — a broad mandate. Sixty-six proposals are currently under discussion. Not all of them make it. That’s how this works. Developers evaluate, teams debate, and the list narrows down to what’s actually ready and what fits the release window.
Execution client teams are expected to submit their finalized preference lists by September 10. A key decision point comes earlier — August 27, during the All Core Developers Execution call. That meeting will probably shape which proposals survive into serious implementation planning.
EIP-8368 is also in the mix. It would adjust state-creation costs if Ethereum raises its gas limit, which seems likely at some point given the network’s growth trajectory. State management is a real concern as the chain gets bigger. Developers are also looking at optional zero-knowledge EVM proofs, though details on that front are still murky. No firm commitment there yet.
The combination of Frame Transactions and FOCIL is what makes the privacy angle interesting. Frame Transactions handle the fee problem. FOCIL handles the exclusion problem. Together, they’re meant to give users a path to transact without depending on external services and without worrying that a block builder just… ignores them.
It’s a lot to ship by 2027. Sixty-six proposals is a big pile, and the filtering process is genuinely hard. Some features that look good on paper won’t pass the implementation test. Others will get pushed to a later upgrade. Developers have said they want priority decisions locked in before the release date, which gives the September 10 deadline real weight.
Quantum resistance and new cryptographic methods are also part of Ethereum’s longer roadmap, though those aren’t tied to Hegotá specifically. The 2027 upgrade is focused. Privacy pools, inclusion guarantees, account abstraction mechanics — that’s the target.
Client teams submit preferences September 10.
Hub: Ethereum price, news, and analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ethereum’s Hegotá upgrade and when is it planned?
Hegotá is a proposed Ethereum upgrade targeting 2027, focused on self-funded privacy pools, censorship resistance, and account abstraction, with Frame Transactions (EIP-8141) and FOCIL (EIP-7805) as its lead proposals.
What is the difference between EIP-8141 and EIP-8130?
Both are account-abstraction proposals under consideration for Hegotá, but execution client teams haven’t yet decided which design moves forward for implementation and testing.
Why It Matters
The Hegotá upgrade signifies a pivotal shift in Ethereum's approach to transaction processing, particularly by enhancing the autonomy and efficiency of privacy pools. By enabling these pools to self-fund their transaction fees, the upgrade could reduce reliance on third-party relayers, potentially leading to a more decentralized and robust ecosystem. This move may also address ongoing concerns regarding privacy and scalability, positioning Ethereum to better compete with emerging blockchain solutions that prioritize user privacy and operational efficiency.
