The Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol cluster has taken a significant step toward transparency and collaborative governance by releasing its first-ever unified tier list for EIPs (Ethereum Improvement Proposals) slated for the upcoming "Hegoté" network upgrade. In a departure from previous years, where individual teams often published siloed perspectives, this year’s evaluation represents a cohesive, cross-functional consensus among approximately 60 researchers and engineers.
The report evaluates 62 distinct EIPs, providing a rigorous framework for what will—and will not—make the cut for the next major protocol evolution. By categorizing proposals into tiers ranging from "must-ship" (S) to "declined" (DFI), the cluster aims to set clear delivery expectations and focus community resources on the most impactful upgrades.
I. A New Era of Unified Governance
Historically, the complexity of Ethereum upgrades meant that individual client teams, such as the Geth (Go-Ethereum) team, would maintain independent views on which EIPs were ready for implementation. While Geth will continue to ship a standalone tier list to maintain its operational independence, the Protocol cluster’s new, unified view serves as a critical "datapoint" for the broader ecosystem.
This year’s process was defined by an exhaustive review cycle involving nine teams and numerous domain experts. The methodology involved 397 individual tier grades across 62 proposals, resulting in an average of 6.4 evaluations per EIP. The most contested items were subject to a 90-minute intensive working session, ensuring that every grade was "steelmanned"—meaning the strongest version of the argument was considered before reaching a final determination.
The scoring system is straightforward: S-tier (4 points) represents essential, high-impact features, while D/DFI (0 points) indicates proposals that have been declined or deferred. The resulting list is not merely a ranking but a roadmap that dictates where engineering hours will be spent in the coming months.
II. Chronology of the Evaluation Process
The road to the Hegoté tier list began with the retrospectives following the "Glamsterdam" upgrade. Several key lessons emerged from that period: the need to accurately size an EIP by its integration depth, the realization that complexity compounds exponentially, and the acknowledgement that the "testing surface" remains the most scarce resource in the Ethereum development pipeline.
In the weeks leading up to the September 7, 2026, publication, the Protocol cluster engaged in a series of group calls to reconcile differing viewpoints. The process was formalized on August 28, when the team published its protocol priorities. This companion document, EF Protocol: Current and Emerging Priorities, serves as the guiding "North Star" for the cluster, outlining the strategic objectives that necessitated the specific grades assigned in the Hegoté list.
The evaluation concluded with a final, finalized list that categorizes 2 proposals as "must-ship" headliners, 15 as expected to ship, 8 as B-tier (requiring specific conditions for elevation), and 28 as declined.
III. Supporting Data: Consensus and Execution Layers
The Hegoté upgrade is split into two primary domains: the Consensus Layer (CL) and the Execution Layer (EL). Each requires distinct technical considerations.
The Consensus Layer (CL)
The headline of the Consensus Layer is EIP-7805: FOCIL. Evaluators gave this a unanimous S-tier grade, marking it as the primary feature for the Hegoté upgrade. FOCIL provides users with a reliable path to include transactions without needing to rely on centralized builders, a major step toward preserving Ethereum’s censorship-resistant ethos.
Other notable mentions include EIP-8365 (BLS Withdrawal Credential Retirement), which addresses potential post-quantum (PQ) vulnerabilities, and EIP-8334 (Bundled Attestation Propagation), which aims to optimize gossip load across the network.
The Execution Layer (EL)
On the Execution side, EIP-8141: Frame Transactions stands out as the primary "headliner." As a cornerstone for native account abstraction, Frame Transactions offer a pathway to post-quantum signature schemes and improved transaction efficiency. The cluster expects this to ship alongside EIP-8250 and EIP-8272, which provide the necessary infrastructure for keyed nonces and recent roots, respectively.
The list also reflects a rigorous stance on "cleanup" and "deprecation." Proposals like EIP-3298 (Removal of Refunds) were marked A-tier, as they effectively delete an entire class of metering edge cases that have historically caused headaches for developers and node operators.
IV. Implications of the "Declined" (DFI) List
A core tenet of the Protocol cluster’s strategy is that "success is determined as much by what we decline as by what we ship." The list of declined proposals is extensive, including EIP-8142 (Block-in-Blobs) and EIP-7645 (Alias ORIGIN to SENDER).
The rationale for these rejections is consistent: either the proposal introduces too much technical surface area, lacks a clear owner, or conflicts with the long-term vision of "decoupled consensus." For instance, EIP-7716 (Anti-Correlation Attestation Penalties) was initially met with mixed reviews; while acknowledged as a "good idea," it was deferred because it was deemed not a high priority for a fork where the goal is to keep the Consensus Layer scope light.
V. Official Responses and Community Engagement
The Ethereum Foundation is aware that a list of this magnitude will inevitably draw debate. To facilitate an open dialogue, the team has scheduled a Reddit AMA on r/ethereum for September 16, 2026, at 2:00 PM UTC.
"Champions and supporters of non-A-tier EIPs and declined EIPs are especially welcome," the team stated in their closing announcement. This transparency is intended to ensure that if a specific grade is perceived as erroneous or misaligned with community needs, there is a clear mechanism for feedback. A public submission form has also been provided for those who wish to submit questions in advance of the AMA.
VI. Looking Forward: The "North Star" Strategy
The publication of the Hegoté tier list marks a shift in how Ethereum approaches protocol upgrades. By moving away from decentralized, sometimes conflicting, opinions and toward a unified, rubric-based evaluation, the EF Protocol cluster is attempting to increase the predictability of the development cycle.
The emphasis on Protocol Priorities—a document that must be read in tandem with the tier list—highlights that these decisions are not arbitrary. They are calculated moves intended to harden the network against future threats (such as quantum computing), simplify the EVM for long-term maintainability, and improve the user experience through features like native account abstraction.
As the ecosystem prepares for the Hegoté upgrade, the focus will now shift to the implementation phase. For the proposals that made the cut, the work of specification and testing begins in earnest. For the proposals that were deferred, the door remains open for future iterations, provided they can address the concerns raised by the cluster.
The community is encouraged to view this list not as a final judgment, but as a living document that reflects the current state of engineering consensus. In an environment as complex as Ethereum, the ability to prioritize effectively is perhaps the most important skill for ensuring the network remains secure, decentralized, and scalable for years to come.
For those interested in the full visual representation of these grades, the Protocol cluster points to the Forkcast tool, which offers an interactive dashboard for exploring the EIPs and their associated scores.
