Highlights from the All Core Developers Consensus (ACDC) Call #175

Ethereum core developers gathered for ACDC #175 with two clear priorities. The first centered on Glamsterdam's ePBS Devnet Zero. Client teams shared updates on early implementations, spec maturity, and interoperability goals as they work toward launching the first coordinated test network for Enshrined Proposer Builder Separation.

The second major milestone was the formal headliner selection for Hegotá. With competing proposals on the table, client teams moved toward closure, ultimately aligning around FOCIL as the Consensus Layer headliner. The decision marks an important step in shaping Hegotá’s direction.

• Glamsterdam Updates
• Hegota Updates

Glamsterdam Updates

The focus of Glamsterdam right now is ePBS, Enshrined Proposer Builder Separation. For the past few years, Ethereum has relied on MEV Boost to separate block building from block proposing.

Builders construct blocks. Proposers select the most profitable one. It works, but it lives outside the protocol. It depends on relays and external coordination. ePBS brings that separation into Ethereum’s core consensus rules.

Instead of relying on external infrastructure to coordinate builder markets, the protocol itself defines how builders and proposers interact. Validators no longer depend on an optional add on. The logic becomes native.

ePBS Devnet Zero is less about performance and more about interoperation. Lighthouse has already been testing locally and has identified small issues. Blocks are mostly empty in early runs, but those appear to be minor implementation details rather than structural flaws. Other clients are working through pending pull requests.

The shared expectation is that once two or three clients are running stable builds, Devnet Zero can launch. There is cautious confidence that this could happen within the targeted window.

The spec itself is still in alpha form. There are open discussions, including one around a variable timing parameter affecting proposer deadlines. But importantly, none of these questions are currently considered blocking.

MEV Boost improved efficiency and created a competitive builder market, but it also introduced new dependencies. Relays became central coordination points. Censorship concerns became harder to reason about at the protocol level. By enshrining proposer builder separation, Ethereum reduces the gap between what the protocol promises and how block production actually works.

Hegota Updates

Client teams formally selected FOCIL as the Consensus Layer headliner.

Ethereum’s upgrade process now uses a headliner framework. One central proposal defines the direction of the fork. Other ideas are evaluated afterward. For Hegotá, the two leading candidates were FOCIL and a two dimensional partial reconstruction proposal. After discussions across calls and forums, FOCIL emerged as the clear preference.

Client teams that had previously expressed support reaffirmed their positions. Community sentiment also leaned heavily toward FOCIL. Even ecosystem contributors, including participants associated with Lido, publicly supported the proposal.

FOCIL stands for Fork Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists. If a block builder excludes certain valid transactions, validators gain a mechanism to ensure those transactions are eventually included. Inclusion becomes something that can be enforced through fork choice, not merely encouraged socially.

Today, censorship resistance largely relies on competition between builders and the assumption that someone else will include a transaction. FOCIL introduces a structural safeguard.

It does not eliminate all possible censorship vectors. No single mechanism can. But it raises the cost of sustained exclusion and formalizes a path for validators to intervene. This becomes particularly important in a world where block building is increasingly specialized and potentially concentrated.

ePBS Devnets demand attention. Spec refinement requires coordination. Execution layer implications must be considered carefully. As a result, there is little appetite to overload Hegotá with additional features too quickly. The headliner is chosen.

ePBS modifies proposer timing and builder interaction. FOCIL modifies transaction inclusion dynamics. Execution clients will eventually need to reflect these changes in their own logic. ePBS is slowly moving from idea to real implementation, and FOCIL now gives Hegotá a clear direction.

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