Ethlabs drops Hegotá slot proposal in push for 2027 quantum readiness

Ethlabs has decided to withdraw its proposal to speed up Ethereum's block production in the Hegotá upgrade, and instead focus on preparing the network for quantum attacks by 2027. The group has outlined a new roadmap called "pqai27," which aims to protect Ethereum against threats from quantum computing and increasingly advanced artificial intelligence.

Previously, Ethlabs supported the Quick Slots improvement, which would have reduced the Ethereum slot time from 12 seconds to 10 seconds. However, the group is now redirecting its efforts towards pqai27 and plans to consider faster slots again in 2028. The Ethlabs roadmap emphasizes the importance of FOCIL, a planned feature for censorship resistance, only if it does not compromise quantum readiness.

Frame Transactions, a feature that enables more flexible account authentication, has been deemed central to the proposed transition. Glamsterdam, the upgrade preceding Hegotá, is still set to proceed as planned. The Ethereum core developers have not yet approved Ethlabs' proposal. The Ethereum Foundation's roadmap still aims to achieve quantum resistance by December 2029. During the Devcon event, researcher Justin Drake expressed hope to complete the transition in 2028.