Ethereum core developers gathered for ACDE #231 with three parallel priorities shaping the discussion. The first focused on Glamsterdam devnets, where client teams shared updates on sync stability, scope reductions, and the upcoming BAL Devnet 3 launch as execution layer testing shifts from experimentation toward coordinated delivery.

The second centered on foundational infrastructure work, including the rollout of the new EraE historical format and renewed efforts to standardize the txpool namespace across clients. The third and most consequential thread revolved around Hegotá’s execution layer headliner.

• Glamsterdam Updates
• Miscellaneous Updates
• Hegota Updates

Glamsterdam Updates

The Glamsterdam upgrade cycle remains active across multiple devnets, each targeting different components of execution layer improvements.

1. Blob Devnet is testing partial file behavior. Lighthouse and Prysm are onboarded, but execution clients are still facing sync to head issues.

Sync failures in devnets are often the first signal that assumptions made at the spec level need refinement at the implementation layer. The teams are coordinating fixes rather than treating it as a blocker.

2. BAL Devnet 2 is focused on local level access lists. Itrax synced successfully after onboarding. Erigon has not yet reached head, and debugging is ongoing.

That contrast shows how client diversity continues to be both a strength and a stress point.

3. Perf Devnet 3 had to be relaunched after the chain halted and could not be recovered. Instead of attempting complicated rescue logic, the team restarted deployment.
4. BAL Devnet 3 is scheduled with a reduced scope. Originally, EIP 8037 included dynamic gas adjustments. Testing that proved heavier than expected, especially given the legacy test formats that had to be migrated away from YAML.

Glamsterdam is moving forward step by step, with teams fixing issues as they surface and keeping scope realistic.

Miscellaneous Updates

While forks get attention, some of the most important work happens in quieter threads. Two such efforts surfaced in the latest discussions: EraE and transaction pool namespace standardization.

EraE is the successor to ERA 1, the file format used to represent historical data. ERA 1 was built in a different era of Ethereum. It does not fully reflect post merge realities. EraE is designed to handle the transition epoch cleanly, omit obsolete fields like difficulty, and group entities by type instead of by block. Receipts are simplified, and certain legacy structures are removed.

Geth already has an implementation merged. Nimbus and Nethermind are progressing. Exported files are available for mainnet and Sepolia. The message to client teams is that the spec is stable enough to begin implementation and feedback.

EraE does not change user behavior. But it modernizes Ethereum’s historical record keeping. In the long run, archival format upgrades are as critical as consensus upgrades. Without them, technical debt accumulates quietly.

Historically, transaction pool RPC methods have not been fully standardized across clients. Geth, Erigon, Nethermind, and Reth already support similar methods like:

• txpool_content
• txpool_statu
• txpool_contentFrom
• txpool_inspect

The revived proposal aims to formalize and possibly extend this with:

• txpool_transactions
• txpool_statistics
• Filtering capabilities

Most participants agree standardization is necessary. The open question is scope and whether certain additions require a formal EIP pathway.

Hegota Updates

The most consequential discussion centers on the Hegotá fork and the question of what, if anything, should serve as the execution layer headliner. The choices currently under debate:

1. EIP-8141 Frame Transactions
2. LUCID (Encrypted Mempool)
3. No EL headliner

The EIP-8105 team is giving its full support behind LUCID as a Hegotá headliner. Supporters argue that encrypted mempools address front running and restore trustless inclusion.

Besu has publicly supported LUCID as the headliner candidate. Opposition is not necessarily about the idea itself. It is about readiness. Several client teams question whether encrypted mempools are mature enough for inclusion now.

There are ongoing debates about metadata exposure and how much information is still visible even in encrypted designs. For many, it feels like a proposal that needs more prototyping before being enshrined at the protocol level.

Frame Transactions, on the other hand, represent a deeper architectural shift. The proposal removes enshrined ECDSA signature assumptions and introduces a generalized transaction structure built around frames.

It aims to prepare Ethereum for post quantum cryptography while enabling more flexible validation logic and native account abstraction. Supporters describe it as long overdue cleanup.

Instead of adding another special case transaction type, Frame Transactions attempt to unify validation and execution under a more general framework. They argue that Ethereum should stop patching around signature limitations and instead remove signature assumptions from the protocol entirely.

Then there is the third option. No execution layer headliner. This does not mean doing nothing. It simply means that no single execution layer feature would delay the fork if unfinished.

Smaller EIPs could still be included. The fork could remain lighter and more flexible. Several clients lean toward this conservative approach.

Frame Transactions offer architectural clarity but come with complexity. LUCID offers immediate user facing improvements but may feel premature. No headliner offers stability but risks missing an opportunity for meaningful progress.

There is no overwhelming majority yet. Breakout discussions are expected before the next decision point. The coming weeks will determine whether the execution layer takes a bold step forward, opts for incremental safety, or chooses to wait.

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