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

Recently, with the increased activity in the cryptocurrency market, Ethereum (ETH) investors have turned their attention to the year 2026. Ethereum developers are reinforcing investors' confidence by unveiling a series of significant plans for 2026. In the All Core Developers Execution meeting held on Thursday, the name of the next major update for the Ethereum network was determined to be 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 is a combination of the execution layer upgrade called Bogota and the consensus layer upgrade named Heze. Developers noted that the details of the main Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) within the scope of Hegota will be clarified in February.

With the updates Pectra and Fusaka planned for 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 timetable, the Glamsterdam update is expected to roll out in the first half of 2026, while the Hegota update is anticipated to be implemented in the second half of the year.

Although the update of Hegota is still in its early stages, it offers clues regarding essential topics in the developers' roadmap. In particular, Verkle Trees stand out as a significant step towards a fully stateless client architecture. Additionally, matters related to state expiry for clearing historical data and improvements in the execution layer are also on the agenda. On the other hand, 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 access lists at the block level and rebalancing gas fees. However, more complex changes that do not fit the timeline are expected to be deferred to the Hegota update. Thus, the announcement of Hegota is regarded as a significant milestone encompassing the post-2026 development process of Ethereum, alongside past major updates like The Merge, The Surge, The Verge, The Purge, and The Splurge.