Ethereum’s next big upgrade has 66 proposals, including a major privacy fix

Ethereum developers are deliberating over the blockchain's upcoming upgrade, Hegotá, which could introduce a privacy fix for private transactions. Currently, all Ethereum addresses are permanent and visible, making it difficult for users who wish to keep their financial activities private. A proposal called Frame Transactions, or EIP-8141, would allow accounts to define how a transaction is approved, executed, and paid for, bypassing the need for middlemen.

This could enable features like fee coverage by someone else, bundling of actions into a single payment, or unique transaction cryptography without changing accounts. Another proposal, Keyed Nonces (EIP-8250), would allow separate transaction counters to prevent delays from holding up subsequent transactions, while EIP-8272 would enable transactions to prove themselves against recent cryptographic records without relying on potentially changing information.

These changes would help reduce the need for external infrastructure to maintain privacy. However, Ethereum itself would not become private, as transactions between normal addresses would remain visible. Additionally, a separate change called FOCIL would allow a group of network operators to compile a list of transactions that must be included, removing the decision-making power from individual block builders.

Despite being marked as considered for Hegotá, Frame Transactions has not been officially approved yet. Only one change has been approved so far, which addresses censorship by taking that decision away from any single block builder. Other proposals aim to improve block production speed, adjust validator rewards, and prepare Ethereum for quantum-resistant cryptography.

The deadline for submitting new proposals was August 6, and the final decisions will be made in upcoming core developer meetings.