Ethereum developers dropped a proposal for faster blocks from Hegotá while discussing how to accelerate quantum-resistant security. They left the upgrade’s broader scope and consensus design undecided.
At the Nov. 12 All Core Devs Consensus call, developers moved Quick Slots from “considered” to “declined” for inclusion. They also accepted a proposal to let validators and block builders register post-quantum keys for discussion, without committing to implement it.
Researcher Christine D. Kim described the uncertainty more bluntly in a Nov. 13 X reply: “rework cant be avoided, development is on pause rn until devs figure out their new direction.” She was responding to a question about which decisions needed to come first to avoid rework, not announcing an agreed change to the upgrade schedule.
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View post on XIn her parent post, accompanying a ‘From Devcon to DEFCON’ slide credited to call chair Ben Edgington, Kim identified three pending choices: rescoping Hegotá, planning post-quantum changes to Gasper, Ethereum’s current consensus protocol, and funding efforts to harden client software against attacks.
The call transcript indicates a narrower outcome than a blanket halt to development. Edgington deferred broader decisions to future calls and said work on Glamsterdam’s gas-repricing changes was continuing.
Faster Blocks Out, FOCIL Still Open
Quick Slots would shorten Ethereum’s slot duration, the interval between opportunities to produce a block, from 12 seconds to 10. That could also speed Layer 2 deposits and messages that wait for a set number of Layer 1 blocks. The proposal had been under consideration for Hegotá, but was not scheduled for inclusion.
Hegotá’s Meta EIP still lists FOCIL and Frame Transactions as its two scheduled changes, the headliners previously covered by The Defiant. FOCIL would allow validator committees to require the inclusion of eligible transactions, subject to validity and available block space, to strengthen censorship resistance. The call did not remove it.
FOCIL’s fate remains contested. Co-author Thomas Thiery argued that its interaction with Frame Transactions was conceptually straightforward, while acknowledging that its compatibility with post-quantum cryptography needed more work.
Developers also left undecided whether to adapt Gasper to quantum-resistant signatures or move directly to a redesigned, post-quantum decoupled consensus system. Justin Traglia proposed spending several weeks investigating the Gasper option. Mikhail Kalinin cautioned that changing signatures would require rethinking bandwidth and computation, and that teams might still need to switch approaches later.
An Ethlabs proposal advocates post-quantum readiness in 2027, retaining Frame Transactions as a foundation for quantum-resistant accounts while reconsidering features that do not support that goal. This is a proposed direction, not an adopted replacement schedule.
Glamsterdam’s existing delay is separate. The Ethereum Foundation said the Hoodi testnet upgrade was held back because of potential effects of gas-repricing changes on deployed contracts. Its published review timetable calls for audit findings to be discussed Nov. 16, with possible next steps on Nov. 19. The next consensus call is scheduled for Nov. 26.
