The Ethereum Foundation (EF) Protocol cluster has officially released its inaugural unified tier list evaluating 62 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) currently under consideration for the upcoming Hegotá network upgrade. This publication represents a significant shift in the development lifecycle of the Ethereum protocol, moving away from fragmented, team-specific assessments toward a singular, transparent roadmap developed through the collaborative efforts of approximately 60 researchers and engineers across the ecosystem. While execution layer (EL) client teams such as Geth retain their autonomy to publish independent assessments, this collective report serves as a critical, high-level datapoint for the broader developer community, outlining the technical priorities and delivery expectations for the next major phase of Ethereum’s evolution.
A New Collaborative Framework for Protocol Development
The methodology behind the Hegotá tier list is rooted in a structured, multi-stage evaluation process designed to mitigate the complexity issues encountered during the previous "Glamsterdam" upgrade. To ensure a rigorous assessment, nine distinct teams and several individual domain experts submitted 16 separate contribution templates. This resulted in a comprehensive dataset of 397 individual tier grades across 62 proposals, averaging 6.4 grades per EIP, with highly debated topics drawing as many as nine unique assessments.
The scoring system—ranging from S (the highest priority) to D/DFI (declined or deferred)—was designed to provide clear delivery expectations for each proposal. An "S" grade signifies a fundamental, must-ship component, while "A" indicates high priority. "B" and "C" tiers are reserved for proposals requiring further specification or those that fall below the immediate deployment threshold. The final published list acts as a "steelman" of the collective internal discourse, refined through multiple group calls and a 90-minute intensive working session aimed at resolving points of contention.
Chronology and Lessons from Past Upgrades
The transition to this collaborative model was largely informed by the retrospectives conducted following the Glamsterdam upgrade. Engineering leads identified several recurring bottlenecks, most notably the tendency for champions to underestimate the integration depth of their proposals. As protocol complexity compounds with every successive upgrade, the "testing surface"—the collective effort required to ensure network stability across multiple clients—has become the scarcest resource in the development pipeline.
By analyzing the failures and successes of the previous upgrade cycle, the Protocol cluster concluded that future upgrades must prioritize modularity and clear sequencing. This awareness led to the publication of the companion document, "EF Protocol: Current and Emerging Priorities," which outlines the "north star" objectives for the cluster. These objectives—primarily focusing on long-term sustainability, validator efficiency, and cryptographic agility—have effectively steered the selection process for the Hegotá upgrade.
Categorical Breakdown of the Hegotá Roadmap
The proposals for Hegotá are broadly categorized into Consensus Layer (CL) and Execution Layer (EL) improvements. Within the Consensus Layer, EIP-7805 (FOCIL) has been designated as the primary headliner. FOCIL aims to provide individual users with a reliable path to include eligible transactions without the necessity of relying on centralized builders, thereby bolstering censorship resistance at the protocol level. It is expected to ship in conjunction with EIP-8369, which defines the eligibility criteria for transactions and extends these inclusion guarantees to "Frames."
On the Execution Layer, EIP-8141 (Frame Transactions) takes center stage. This proposal introduces a form of native account abstraction that addresses critical security concerns, creates a pathway for post-quantum (PQ) signature schemes, and allows for the eventual retirement of k1 keys. The inclusion of this proposal, alongside support mechanisms like EIP-8250 (Keyed Nonces) and EIP-8272 (Recent Roots), underscores the community’s commitment to evolving the EVM to better serve user-facing applications.
The list also highlights several "Cleanup and Deprecation" efforts, such as EIP-3298 (Removal of Refunds) and EIP-4758 (Deactivate SELFDESTRUCT). These EIPs, while less flashy than new feature introductions, are vital for reducing the technical debt that accumulates within the EVM, simplifying the testing surface for all future upgrades.
Data-Driven Selection and Deferred Proposals
Out of the 62 proposals reviewed, the distribution of the tier list is as follows:
- Must-Ship: 2 proposals (S-tier).
- Expected to Ship: 15 proposals (A-tier).
- Bubble/Requirements-Based: 8 proposals (B-tier).
- Below the Line: 7 proposals (C-tier).
- Declined/Deferred: 28 proposals (D/DFI-tier).
- TBD: 2 proposals pending real-world mainnet data.
The decision to decline 28 proposals reflects a disciplined approach to scope management. For instance, EIP-7716, which deals with anti-correlation attestation penalties, was moved to a deferred status despite being acknowledged as a "good idea." The cluster determined that the potential impact on the staker landscape and the complexities of multi-client setups required more extensive community discourse and research before integration could be safely justified. Similarly, proposals like EIP-8363 (Tapered Issuance Burn) were deemed to involve economic policy decisions that extend beyond the technical scope of a standard network upgrade.
Implications for the Ecosystem
The publication of this tier list serves several strategic purposes for the broader Ethereum ecosystem. First, it provides transparency. By documenting not just the grades, but the specific requirements for "bubble" proposals to move up a tier, the EF is signaling to external developers exactly what needs to be addressed to gain consensus. This creates a more predictable environment for those building on or around the protocol.
Second, it standardizes the definition of "success." By stating that success is determined as much by what is declined as by what is shipped, the Protocol cluster is setting expectations for a lean, focused upgrade that avoids the dangers of "feature creep." The decision to keep the CL scope relatively light, while focusing heavily on essential upgrades like FOCIL and Frame Transactions, indicates a desire to maintain network stability while transitioning toward more advanced architectural goals, such as post-quantum security and decoupled consensus.
Looking Ahead: The Role of Community Engagement
The EF recognizes that this tier list is a living document and has proactively invited public scrutiny. To foster a productive dialogue, the Ethereum Foundation has scheduled a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on September 16 at 2:00 PM UTC. This forum is specifically intended for the authors and supporters of EIPs that did not receive an "A" or "S" grade to engage directly with the protocol team.
By providing a submission form for questions in advance, the organizers hope to channel the inevitable feedback into constructive, technical debate. The goal is to ensure that the final list of EIPs for the Hegotá upgrade is as robust as possible, vetted not only by internal teams but by the collective intelligence of the entire Ethereum community.
As the development cycle progresses, the industry will be watching closely to see how these rankings translate into implemented code. The reliance on "steelmanning"—the process of representing an argument in its strongest form—suggests that the current leadership is prioritizing intellectual rigor and consensus-building over speed. If successful, the Hegotá upgrade could set a new standard for how decentralized, open-source protocols manage complex, multi-stakeholder technical roadmaps, ensuring that Ethereum remains resilient, scalable, and secure in an increasingly volatile digital landscape. The current strategy of "less is more" and "research-led deployment" appears to be the guiding philosophy for the foreseeable future, as the network prepares to enter its next phase of maturity.
