Key Highlights
- Ethereum core developers have officially named the network’s next major upgrade Hegota, scheduled for the second half of 2026
- The main purpose of this upgrade is the inclusion of Verkle Trees, which is a technology to enable stateless clients
- The plan follows the successful Fusaka upgrade, which is a major boost to data capacity for Layer-2 networks like Arbitrum and Optimism
On December 19, Ethereum developers revealed the name for the upcoming upgrade in 2026, calling it Hegota. The announcement was made during the final developer call of the year, which set a key marker for the blockchain’s roadmap for the next year.
Ethereum developers name post-Glamsterdam upgrade ‘Hegota’ as 2026 roadmap takes shape
— unfolded. (@cryptounfolded) December 19, 2025
The name is a combination of two planned upgrades, which shows Ethereum’s unified technical approach. Hegota is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2026.
This name follows a pattern of consistent, twice-yearly improvements to the network, such as the Pectra and Fusaka upgrades in 2025. Developers explained their strategy behind predictable developments instead of intense efforts.
While the exact features for Hegota are still being decided, a leading candidate is a major technical change called Verkle Trees.
Ethereum Might Integrate Verkle Trees
The potential integration of Verkle Trees shows a critical long-term goal for Ethereum. This technology is important for creating stateless clients. Currently, running a full Ethereum node requires storing a massive amount of data, known as the “state.” This demand for storage and computing power makes it difficult for regular users to participate, rising network centralization.
Verkle Trees would allow nodes to verify new transactions and blocks without needing to store this entire historical state. By reducing the hardware requirements, this upgrade is expected to make running a node possible for many more people. The purpose of this development is to strengthen Ethereum’s core principle of decentralization by allowing broader participation in securing the network.
A decision on whether Verkle Trees will be included in Hegota is expected by February 2026.
The planning for Hegota comes from the recent success of the Fusaka upgrade, which went live in December 2025. Fusaka introduced a major improvement called PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling). This enhancement is a major increase from the amount of data that so-called Layer-2 networks, like Arbitrum and Optimism, can process.
These layer-2 networks are an important part of Ethereum’s scaling plan. They bundle thousands of transactions off the main Ethereum chain before settling them securely back on it. With the upgrades from Fusaka, the capacity for these networks has grown exponentially. This has helped the ecosystem’s transaction fees on many popular applications to multi-year lows, which makes the ecosystem more efficient and affordable for users.
Beyond technical upgrades, Ethereum is rapidly heading to become a leading platform for new innovations, including the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). By late 2025, over $300 billion in assets like real estate, government bonds, and commodities had been represented as digital tokens on Ethereum.
The low fees and high capacity provided by Layer-2 networks are making it practical for large institutions to use Ethereum for these purposes. Popular analysts, including Tom Lee of Fundstrat, have identified tokenization as a growing trend, with the potential to migrate trillions of dollars of traditional finance onto blockchain networks.
Ethereum’s security, deep liquidity, and programmable “smart contracts” will make it as the primary settlement layer for this growing sector.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin highlighted a crucial philosophical direction for the network’s future. Buterin argued that as blockchains become more complex, users are forced to trust experts to interpret the system for them.
Buterin raised support for developing simpler protocols, even if it means sacrificing some advanced features. He believes that this is important to allow more people to fully understand and verify the system themselves, which is the true element of decentralization.
Also Read: Ethereum Price Slides Toward Key Neckline Despite Inflation Relief
