Vitalik Buterin estimates that the upcoming Hegota upgrade, expected next year, could be the last Ethereum fork still comparable to the classic evolutions of the network. In an essay published on September 27, the co-founder of Ethereum describes a following phase that will be more focused on advanced cryptographic proofs, automated verification, and resistance to quantum computers. However, Hegota is still in preparation and its roadmap is not yet definitive.
A benchmark between the early Ethereum and that of tomorrow
In his essay, Vitalik Buterin compares several stages in the evolution of Ethereum — 2015, 2025, and 2030 — with the early designs of Bitcoin. This comparison serves to highlight how much the network has changed since its inception and to present the transformation he anticipates for the coming years.
To situate Hegota in this evolution, Buterin relies on the Strawmap, a long-term roadmap project for Ethereum. According to his reading of this timeline, the fork planned for next year would likely be the last whose features and technologies would remain immediately recognizable to a developer who worked on the network in 2015.
The term “classic” does not imply that Ethereum would cease to evolve thereafter. It rather denotes a break in the nature of the changes envisioned. After Hegota, advancements could rely on methods and architectures that are further removed from those that have structured previous upgrades.
Hegota is still in the preparation phase
The perspective mentioned by Buterin remains an anticipation, not the confirmation of a definitively established timeline. The preparations for Hegota are still in their early stages. The page dedicated to this upgrade currently presents two proposed changes: Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists, or FOCIL, and frame transactions.
FOCIL relies on a committee of validators who can propose lists of transactions. Block builders must take these lists into account when producing blocks. The mechanism thus aims to enhance the inclusion of transactions in the construction process, according to rules integrated into the chain selection.
Frame transactions, on the other hand, concern how accounts can process their operations. They would allow each account to execute its own verification logic and select the signatures used. This flexibility could particularly facilitate the adoption of quantum-resistant signatures.
These elements provide an overview of the topics currently associated with Hegota, but they do not summarize the entire future evolution of Ethereum. Their presence in the preparations does not mean that all features envisioned throughout the work will necessarily be integrated into the final version of the fork.
After Hegota, an evolution based on new cryptographic techniques
Recursive STARKs at the heart of the announced work
In his projection, Buterin estimates that the steps following Hegota will significantly incorporate recursive STARKs, a form of cryptographic proof. These tools would allow the verification of composed or nested proofs and are part of a broader reflection on how to make network verification more efficient.
The co-founder of Ethereum also mentions automated formal verification. The general objective is to be able to rigorously control the behavior of software and network mechanisms, relying more on automated methods. This orientation marks a step change from the usual improvements made over the forks.
Another focus is that of a strongly optimized consensus. The consensus encompasses the rules that allow participants to agree on the state of the network and the order of operations. Buterin envisions work aimed at making these mechanisms more efficient, alongside cryptographic advancements.
Quantum resistance is also among the priorities mentioned. Quantum computers could eventually challenge certain cryptographic methods currently used. Preparing Ethereum for this eventuality involves studying solutions capable of protecting operations and accounts against new computational capacities.
A continuity with the Lean Ethereum project
The directions described in the essay extend ideas that Buterin had already presented earlier in the year under the name Lean Ethereum. This project particularly emphasizes recursive STARKs and cryptographic mechanisms designed to resist quantum computers.
The connection between Lean Ethereum and the developments anticipated after Hegota shows that these subjects are not presented as isolated additions. They fit into a broader reflection on the network’s architecture, its verification requirements, and its ability to remain robust as technologies evolve.
Buterin’s vision for Ethereum by 2030
A blockchain whose fundamental properties are changing
In his essay, Buterin does not limit himself to describing a succession of forks. He also proposes a reflection on Ethereum’s long-term identity. According to him, after the integration of the improvements associated with Lean Ethereum, the network might retain the term blockchain mainly for historical reasons.
This formulation reflects the magnitude of the anticipated transformations. Buterin believes that almost all the fundamental properties traditionally associated with a blockchain have already evolved or could soon do so. The manner in which the network is verified is one of the examples he highlights.
In the original verification model, inherited from the early years of the sector, nodes would download each block and then re-execute the operations to verify its content. This approach represents a point of comparison with the more recent methods that work around cryptographic proofs seek to develop.
Recursive STARKs, automated verification, and consensus optimization are part of this transition. Together, these avenues reflect a desire to evolve the methods used to establish and control the state of Ethereum, without reducing this transformation to a mere succession of conventional technical improvements.
Verification, speed, and privacy
The reflection towards 2030 also addresses several complementary objectives, including verification, speed, and privacy. Buterin’s essay presents them as significant dimensions of the network’s evolution, alongside cryptographic security and quantum resistance.
Verification is at the heart of the change described: it aims to evolve the means of controlling operations and the state of the network. Speed refers to the optimization efforts regarding mechanisms, particularly consensus. As for privacy, it is included in this broader vision of the future Ethereum, even though the presented essay does not reduce it to a single feature or a precise timeline on this topic.
The roadmap should therefore be interpreted as a general direction rather than a definitive list of deliverables. Hegota marks a milestone in this trajectory, while the evolutions that could follow will depend on even more advanced work in cryptography, verification, and network architecture.
