In a significant shift toward transparency and collaborative governance, the Ethereum Foundation’s (EF) Protocol cluster has released its first-ever unified tier list for the upcoming "Hegotäel" network upgrade. This comprehensive evaluation of 62 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) marks a departure from previous years, where individual teams often published fragmented opinions. Instead, this release synthesizes the collective expertise of nearly 60 researchers and engineers, establishing a clear, prioritized roadmap for Ethereum’s technical evolution.
The tier list serves as a strategic compass, balancing the urgent need for network scalability and security against the risks of technical debt and over-complexity. While Geth—as a primary execution layer (EL) client—will continue to publish its own independent assessment, the unified view provided here offers the community a definitive look at what the EF considers essential for the next phase of the network’s development.
I. The Methodology: A Data-Driven Approach to Consensus
The process of arriving at this tier list was exhaustive. Nine distinct teams, alongside several independent domain experts, participated in a rigorous assessment cycle. In total, 16 individual contribution templates were submitted, resulting in 397 unique grade assignments across 62 proposals. The most contested items drew as many as nine individual grades, ensuring that no proposal was dismissed without thorough scrutiny.
The Scoring Framework
The grading system was designed to be both simple and actionable:
- S (4): Essential, high-priority "headliner" features.
- A (3): High-merit proposals expected to ship.
- B (2): Strong candidates that require specific technical or specification-based requirements to move up.
- C (1): Below the line; currently lacking the necessary justification or maturity.
- D/DFI (0): Declined or deferred, with detailed concerns provided for each.
The published grades represent a "steelman" argument—a synthesis of independent grades that was debated and refined during a series of intense working sessions. By focusing on integration depth, complexity, and the scarcity of testing surfaces, the cluster aimed to avoid the common pitfall of underestimating the maintenance burden of new features.
Lessons from Glamsterdam
This process was heavily informed by retrospectives on the previous "Glamsterdam" upgrade. Key takeaways included the necessity of sizing EIPs based on their integration depth and the realization that complexity compounds exponentially. The cluster acknowledged that testing surface is the ultimate scarce resource in protocol development, leading to a more cautious approach toward features that introduce significant architectural overhead.
II. Chronology: From Submission to Publication
The journey to the Hegotäel tier list began with a commitment to open collaboration. The timeline below tracks the key milestones in this decision-making process:
- Late August 2026: The Protocol cluster publishes the foundational process post on August 28, outlining the criteria for evaluation.
- Early September 2026: The cluster conducts a series of group calls and a 90-minute intensive working session to reconcile conflicting team opinions and solidify the "steelman" grades for the most contested EIPs.
- September 7, 2026: The official "EF Protocol: Current and Emerging Priorities" companion document is released, establishing the "north star" goals that guided the grading process.
- September 8, 2026: The tier list is published. An immediate post-publication update was issued to clarify the research requirements for EIP-7716, ensuring the community has the most accurate information regarding its status.
- September 16, 2026: A scheduled Reddit AMA on r/ethereum provides a public forum for developers and stakeholders to challenge the grades and seek clarity from the core contributors.
III. Supporting Data: Consensus and Execution Layer Highlights
The evaluation covers both the Consensus Layer (CL) and the Execution Layer (EL), with distinct priorities for each.
Consensus Layer: The Path to FOCIL
The standout in the Consensus Layer is EIP-7805 (FOCIL), which has been granted "S" status. FOCIL is recognized as a vital mechanism for allowing users to include eligible transactions without relying on centralized builders. Its integration is expected to be paired with EIP-8369, which defines eligibility profiles, further solidifying its role as a core component of the Hegotäel upgrade.
Conversely, proposals like EIP-8142 (Block-in-Blobs) and EIP-8375 (ePBS Mandatory Burn) were unanimously declined. The rationale for these decisions is clear: they either conflict with the long-term vision of a "J*" architecture or represent policy changes that fall outside the scope of a standard protocol upgrade.
Execution Layer: Prioritizing Account Abstraction
On the Execution Layer, EIP-8141 (Frame Transactions) is the primary "S" tier headliner. By providing a path to Post-Quantum (PQ) signature schemes and enabling better aggregation, Frame Transactions represent a critical milestone in native account abstraction.
The list also highlights a focus on cleanup and optimization, with EIP-3298 (Removal of Refunds) and EIP-5920 (PAY Opcode) receiving high marks for their ability to eliminate edge-case metering and improve EVM efficiency with minimal added surface area.
IV. Official Responses and Community Engagement
The Ethereum Foundation has emphasized that this tier list is not a closed book. The decision to publish the list ahead of the r/ethereum AMA is a deliberate move to foster healthy debate.
"Success here is determined as much by what we decline as by what we ship," the cluster noted in its closing remarks. By providing detailed, pattern-based notes for every EIP—merits for those shipping, specific requirements for those on the bubble, and concerns for those declined—the EF is inviting meaningful, technical pushback from the wider ecosystem.
The inclusion of a formal submission form for the September 16th AMA demonstrates a commitment to hearing from EIP champions whose proposals may have been graded lower than expected. This is particularly important for B and C tier proposals, where the path to "A" status is clearly defined but requires additional prototype work or further impact assessments.
V. Implications: A New Era of Protocol Governance
The publication of the Hegotäel tier list carries several profound implications for the Ethereum ecosystem:
1. Reduced Uncertainty for Developers
By clearly demarcating what is expected to ship and what requires more research, the EF is providing a roadmap that allows L2 teams, infrastructure providers, and application developers to allocate their own resources more effectively. Uncertainty in protocol upgrades often leads to wasted engineering effort; this tier list acts as a mitigation strategy.
2. The "Steel-Manning" of Proposals
The shift to a unified, steel-manned view of EIPs prevents the "siloing" of technical opinion. By forcing different teams—including those working on research and those on implementation—to agree on a single, defensible position, the quality of the resulting protocol is likely to be significantly higher.
3. Focus on Long-Term Sustainability
The recurring themes of "PQ hygiene," "decoupled consensus," and "testing surface scarcity" suggest that the EF is moving away from a feature-heavy development model. Instead, the focus has shifted toward architectural robustness. Every proposal is now evaluated not just on its immediate utility, but on its interaction with future, more complex changes to the network.
4. A Template for Future Governance
This unified approach is likely to become the standard for future upgrades. By combining technical assessment with a clear publication of priorities, the EF is setting a high bar for transparency. This creates a feedback loop where the community can align its efforts with the core developers, potentially accelerating the development lifecycle of the most critical proposals.
Conclusion
The Hegotäel tier list is more than a simple sorting exercise; it is a declaration of the Ethereum Protocol cluster’s intent. It prioritizes the security of the network, the longevity of its account structures, and the modularity of its consensus layer.
As the community prepares for the upcoming AMA, the focus will undoubtedly be on the nuances of the "B" and "C" tiers, where the most active technical debates remain. Whether these proposals are ultimately promoted or remain on the sidelines will depend on the continued collaboration between the core teams and the broader, global community of Ethereum contributors. For now, the path forward is clearly mapped, and the standards for inclusion have never been more transparent.
