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

In recent times, with the increased activity in cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH) investors are focusing their attention on the year 2026. Ethereum developers have presented a series of important plans for 2026, reinforcing investors' confidence. In the All Core Developers Execution meeting held on Thursday, the name of the next major update to the Ethereum network was set as Hegota.

This update will be implemented in line with the regular hard fork schedule set for 2026. Hegota will take place immediately after the Glamsterdam update, and the name of the update is a combination of the names of the execution layer's Bogota upgrade and the consensus layer's Heze. Developers noted that the details of the main Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) under Hegota will be clarified in February.

Ethereum will transition to having two updates per year with the Pectra and Fusaka updates it will implement in 2025. This strategy aims to enable more predictable and regular improvements instead of large and rare updates. According to the current schedule, the Glamsterdam update is expected to be introduced in the first half of 2026, while the Hegota update is anticipated to be launched in the second half of the year.

Although the Hegota update is still in the early stages, it provides clues about significant points in the developers' roadmap. In particular, Verkle Trees stand out as an important step toward a fully stateless client architecture. Additionally, state expiry related to the cleaning of 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 centralization risks 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 fit the timeline are expected to be deferred to the Hegota update. Thus, the announcement of Hegota is considered an important milestone that encompasses the development process of Ethereum post-2026 alongside its significant past updates such as The Merge, The Surge, The Verge, The Purge, and The Splurge.