Ethereum Foundation Sets 2029 Quantum Target and Highlights FOCIL and Frame Transactions for Hegotá

The Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol cluster announced a firm deadline of December 2029 to make Ethereum’s Layer 1 quantum‑resistant across execution, consensus and data layers. The deadline frames the scope of Hegotá, the upgrade planned after the upcoming Glamsterdam hard fork.

Prioritised proposals for Hegotá

Out of 62 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) evaluated for Hegotá, only two received an “S‑tier” (must‑ship) rating:

• EIP‑7805 (FOCIL) – enables validators to require eligible transactions in a block, reducing reliance on centralized block builders.
• EIP‑8141 (Frame Transactions) – makes account validation, execution and gas payment programmable at the protocol level, opening a path for new signature schemes without separate hard forks.

Both proposals are considered headliners for the consensus‑ and execution‑layer components of Hegotá and must be shipped together for safe integration.

Supporting A‑tier proposals

FOCIL’s package includes the A‑tier EIP‑8369, which defines transaction eligibility and validator checks. Frame Transactions are paired with two A‑tier items:

• Keyed nonces – allow multiple users to share a sender address without transaction blocking.
• Recent roots – give private transactions the inclusion guarantees provided by FOCIL.

Additional A‑tier work includes EIP‑8365, which begins retiring withdrawal credentials vulnerable to quantum attacks, and optional execution proofs with bundled attestation propagation.

Proposals receiving lower priority or declined

Several ideas were placed in lower tiers or rejected:

• Quick Slots – a B‑grade proposal to shorten slot time, pending full specifications and impact analysis.
• Independent consensus‑ and execution‑layer syncing – B‑grade, awaiting comparison with simpler alternatives.
• Hash‑Chain RANDAO – B‑grade, held back until a complete post‑quantum consensus design is ready.
• Tapered issuance burn and mandatory burn of execution rewards – declined, with the cluster stating that issuance and reward policy belong to a broader ecosystem process.
• Custom sweep thresholds, withdrawal‑credential preregistration, beacon‑block reporting field – declined.
• EIP‑7851, EIP‑7819 and a specific private‑transfer mechanism – declined in favor of the Frames‑based approach.

Roadmap implications

Achieving full post‑quantum readiness after Glamsterdam would require roughly five forks, each spaced about 7.2 months apart. A fallback milestone two forks after Hegotá could be reached on a 12‑month cadence, providing reduced guarantees during a potential “Q‑day” as early as 2030.

The Foundation is also considering reordering later milestones: moving post‑quantum attestations forward to the K* fork and shifting mandatory execution proofs to L*. This would accelerate the most demanding post‑quantum consensus work while delaying the transition to succinct proof verification.

Assessment process

Approximately 60 researchers and engineers across nine Foundation teams contributed 397 grades to produce the tier list. The list is described as an input to Hegotá scoping rather than a final network‑wide decision, and will be revisited with external experts in January 2027.