Next Major Ethereum Upgrade Revealed by Developers

Just a few weeks after the Fusaka update, Ethereum (ETH) developers have revealed the name for the next major upgrade in 2026. According to insights shared by Wu Blockchain, developers in the ecosystem have voted to name this next update “Hegota.” 

What Hegota upgrade’s name represents

Notably, the name Hegota merges “Bogota” and “Heze,” which are two different Ethereum layers. Bogota is the execution layer for running transactions and smart contracts, while Heze is the consensus layer. The Hegota upgrade will come after Glamsterdam.

Typically, Ethereum upgrades its network twice a year, with the current Glamsterdam set to run earlier in 2026.

Although the details of these upcoming upgrades are still unclear, they will focus on state management, execution-layer optimization and Verkle Trees.

The state management will improve how the Ethereum network tracks account balances, smart contracts and data over time. Execution-layer optimization will focus on making transactions and smart contracts faster and more efficient.

Meanwhile, Ethereum also hopes to reduce how much data the nodes need to store using the Verkle Trees. This is with a view to ensuring that the network is lighter and easier to run.

The overall goal of this planned upgrade in 2026 is to make Ethereum more scalable, efficient and easier to operate, particularly for node operators. Additionally, it is part of the customary maintenance for long-term network health.

How Ethereum’s upgrade path supports long-term scalability

Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin, before the release of the Fusaka upgrade, explained that it would be powered by peer-to-peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS). 

The goal was to address the growing volume of data associated with downloads.

Buterin noted that some of the technology involved in the Fusaka upgrade is still novel. Hence, the planned upgrade in 2026 might also improve on the current state of affairs with the chain.

Meanwhile, on the crypto market, Ethereum is still battling volatility as it changes hands at $2,959.35, which represents a 0.38% decline in the last 24 hours.