Ethereum is preparing for change with the Hegota Update in 2026.

Recently, with the movement in cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH) investors have turned their attention to the year 2026. Ethereum developers have established several important plans for 2026, reinforcing investors' confidence. In the All Core Developers Execution meeting held on Thursday, the name of the next major update for the Ethereum network was announced as Hegota.

This update will be implemented in accordance with the regular hard fork schedule set for 2026. Hegota will be carried out immediately after the Glamsterdam update, and the name of the update was formed by combining the names of the Bogota upgrade in the execution layer and Heze in the consensus layer. Developers noted that the details of the main Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) concerning Hegota will be clarified in February.

With the Pectra and Fusaka updates to be conducted in 2025, Ethereum will transition to a schedule of two updates per year. This strategy aims for more predictable and regular improvements instead of large and rare updates. According to the current timeline, the Glamsterdam update is expected to be implemented in the first half of 2026, while the Hegota update is anticipated to roll out in the second half of the year.

Although the Hegota update is still in its early stages, it provides clues about significant headings in the developers' roadmap. Notably, Verkle Trees are highlighted as an important step toward a fully stateless client architecture. Additionally, state expiry related to the cleanup of historical data and improvements in the execution layer are also on the agenda. Furthermore, the Glamsterdam update aims to enhance Layer 1 efficiency and reduce the centralization risk in block production.

Developers are also working on proposals such as block-level access lists and rebalancing gas fees. However, more complex changes that do not comply with the timeline are expected to be deferred to the Hegota update. Thus, the announcement of Hegota is evaluated as an important milestone that encompasses the development process after 2026, alongside Ethereum's significant past updates like The Merge, The Surge, The Verge, The Purge, and The Splurge.