Earlier this month, Ethereum developers reached a consensus on the name and approximate timeline for the blockchain’s second significant upgrade planned for 2026, officially dubbing it “Hegota” as the next key milestone in Ethereum’s evolution.
Following the upcoming “Glamsterdam” upgrade—expected to launch in early 2026—Hegota is tentatively scheduled for later that same year. This accelerated schedule marks a shift toward more frequent protocol updates compared to Ethereum’s traditional annual release cycle.
This change reflects a newer development strategy where core contributors prioritize delivering network improvements more regularly instead of bundling numerous changes into infrequent major releases. The adjustment comes after some community members voiced concerns earlier this year that Ethereum’s development pace was not keeping up with its rapid expansion and growing technical demands.
The complete details of Glamsterdam are set to be finalized at an upcoming meeting in January. Consequently, no major Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) related to Hegota are expected before February. Nonetheless, early discussions have already started regarding potential features included in Hegota.
A probable source of enhancements for Hegota involves deferred EIPs from Glamsterdam that couldn’t be integrated due to time or complexity constraints—a common practice seen in previous upgrades where unfinished proposals roll over into subsequent releases.
Among initial topics under consideration is Verkle Trees, an advanced data structure aimed at enabling Ethereum nodes to store and verify vast amounts of data more efficiently. Implementing Verkle Trees could lower hardware requirements for node operators significantly, thereby promoting greater decentralization by making node operation accessible to a wider range of participants.
The naming convention “Hegota” continues Ethereum’s tradition of blending Devcon host cities with star names—in this case combining “Bogotá,” representing execution layer upgrades, with “Heze,” symbolizing consensus layer improvements.
As stated by the Ethereum Foundation: “Fusaka introduced PeerDAS alongside numerous minor enhancements while Glamsterdam will bring Block-level Access Lists and enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation. Now we begin charting out our next step: Hegota.”
For further information: Explore how Ethereum’s ‘Glamsterdam’ upgrade aims to enhance MEV fairness