Ethereum Foundation Sets 2029 Quantum Target and Narrows Hegotá Scope

The Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol cluster has set a December 2029 target for making Ethereum’s Layer 1 quantum-resistant across execution, consensus and data, using that deadline to narrow the scope of Hegotá, the upgrade being planned after Glamsterdam.

In a companion assessment, the cluster graded all 62 Ethereum Improvement Proposals submitted for Hegotá. Only two received the “must ship” designation: EIP-7805, known as FOCIL, and EIP-8141, which introduces Frame Transactions. The controversial EIP to reduce the validator rewards was declined.

The cluster defines S-tier as “must ship” and A-tier as “high priority, expected to ship.” B-tier proposals sit “on the bubble” and are considered individually only after devnets containing all S- and A-tier proposals are functional and stable and time remains before work moves to I*.

The ranking is not a final network-wide scope decision. The Foundation described it as “one input to Hegotá scoping,” albeit the first unified tier list from the Protocol cluster. Roughly 60 researchers and engineers across its nine teams contributed 397 grades before contested proposals were discussed.

The quantum target is fixed rather than tied to an estimated arrival date for a cryptographically capable quantum computer. The cluster said it is planning for “Q-day” as early as 2030, while acknowledging that most estimates put it later and that it may never arrive. It will treat the deadline as non-negotiable at least until a reassessment with outside experts in January 2027.

Meeting the target would require Ethereum to develop several forks in parallel. The Foundation said reaching full post-quantum readiness five forks after Glamsterdam would require an average cadence of 7.2 months per fork. A fallback milestone two forks after Hegotá could be reached on a 12-month cadence, but would keep Ethereum running through Q-day with reduced guarantees rather than provide the full design.

Hegotá Centers on FOCIL and Frames

FOCIL would let multiple validators require eligible transactions to appear in a block, reducing users’ dependence on centralized block builders for inclusion. Frame Transactions would make account validation, execution and gas payment programmable at the protocol level, providing a route to new signature schemes without a separate hard fork for each scheme.

The Foundation identifies FOCIL and Frame Transactions as Hegotá’s consensus- and execution-layer headliners. It said they must ship together safely because their interaction creates the fork’s main engineering and testing burden.

FOCIL’s S-tier package includes the A-tier EIP-8369, which defines transaction eligibility and validator checks. Frames is paired with two A-tier proposals: keyed nonces, which let users share a sender without blocking one another’s transactions, and recent roots, which help private transactions receive FOCIL’s inclusion guarantees.

For validators, another A-tier item, EIP-8365, would begin retiring withdrawal credentials tied to cryptography that is vulnerable to quantum attacks. Optional execution proofs and bundled attestation propagation are also expected to ship, but remain below the two locked-in headliners.

Quick Slots Got B-Grade Priority

The list makes other changes conditional. Quick Slots, which would shorten Ethereum’s slot time, received a B grade. It can still be considered individually under the B-tier rule after stable S- and A-tier devnets if time remains. To be considered for A-tier, however, it would need a complete specification, a prototype, an assessment of downstream effects and confirmation that it will not complicate the planned consensus redesign.

Independent consensus- and execution-layer syncing also received a B grade pending a comparison with simpler alternatives and a delivery owner. Hash-Chain RANDAO, a proposed consensus-hardening change, was kept at B because the cluster wants to avoid redesigning one cryptographic component before the complete post-quantum consensus design exists. Two gas-limit proposals were left unranked until Glamsterdam mainnet data shows the effects of its repricing changes.

Tapered Issuance Burn Was Declined

Several validator-facing proposals were declined for Hegotá, including custom sweep thresholds, withdrawal-credential preregistration and a beacon-block reporting field. A tapered issuance burn and a mandatory burn of execution rewards were also declined because the cluster said issuance and reward policy belong in a broader ecosystem process. For the tapered issuance burn specifically, the cluster said its decision was not a judgment on the proposal’s merits.

For application and wallet developers, the ranking favors Frames over competing account-abstraction mechanisms. EIP-7851 and EIP-7819 were declined, as was a proposal to enshrine one specific mechanism for private ETH and token transfers; the cluster said the Frames-based route could pursue the same privacy goal with less protocol surface.

Quantum Work May Push Execution Proofs Back

The deadline could also reorder later forks. Under the current draft roadmap, mandatory execution proofs are planned for K*, while post-quantum attestations arrive in L*. The Foundation is considering swapping those milestones, bringing attestations forward to K* and moving mandatory execution proofs back to L*.

That tradeoff would accelerate the largest remaining piece of post-quantum consensus work while delaying the point at which validators stop re-executing every block and instead verify succinct proofs. The ordering will be finalized only after the research matures and client capacity is better understood.