Following the completion of the Fusaka update on the Ethereum (ETH) network, developers are now focusing on the next major steps in their roadmap.
Gramsterdam, scheduled for release in 2026, and Hegota, which has been postponed to a later date, stand out as updates that are expected to play a decisive role in Ethereum's goals of scalability, transaction costs, and censorship resistance.
Throughout 2025, Ethereum developers frequently stated that they would refocus on directly scaling the mainnet. However, the main impact of the Fusaka update was limited to reducing transaction costs on the Layer 2 (L2) network that was agreed upon for Ethereum. Scheduled to roll out in 2026, Glamsterdam will be the first major step in bringing this approach to mainnet.
The Gramsterdam update has two main features: block-level access lists and proposer-builder separation (ePBS).
Block-level access lists are considered important, especially for complex applications like DeFi. This structure allows some transactions to be processed in parallel, reducing block validation times and making transaction fees more predictable. It is also possible to significantly reduce fees on certain transactions.
The ePBS mechanism aims to increase the transaction capacity of the network while reducing costs. As anonymous developer Potuz has argued, network neutrality could also be strengthened by increasing Ethereum's censorship costs.
Stronger anti-censorship features planned for Gramsterdam have been postponed to the Hegota update. There is no clear timeline for Hegota yet, and it is unclear which Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) will be included in this release. So far, only the FOCIL (Fork-Choice Inclusion Lists) feature has an “under consideration” status.
FOCIL aims to ensure that all valid transactions are included in a block. This proposal sparked intense debate within the Ethereum developer community throughout 2025. Proponents argue that allowing a limited number of people to control block generation over time creates pressure points for censorship by governments and other parties. FOCIL aims to reduce this risk by allowing validators to request that specific transactions be included in a block.
But FOCIL hasn't convinced everyone. Privacy Pool founder Ameen Soleimani argues that the benefits of this mechanism are overstated and could pose serious legal risks, especially for validators based in the US. Soleimani recalled that during the Tornado Cash sanctions, around 90% of validators refused to include relevant transactions, but even if only one validator added these transactions, it was enough for the network to function. He said U.S. validators could face significant sanctions if forced to include these transactions.
In contrast, Rollup developer Tim Clancy described FOCIL as “the most important proposal for Ethereum.” Clancy, who closely followed the Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm scandal in New York, argued that this feature is important to Ethereum's mission to be “the most neutral block space.”
Ethereum developers will begin discussing what features will be included in the Hegota update starting January 8th. The main agenda items are expected to be finalized by the end of February.
*This is not investment advice.
