Ethereum core developers are preparing the next annual network upgrade, known as Hegotá, with 66 Ethereum Improvement Proposals, or EIPs (formal protocol change proposals), currently on the candidate list. Toni Wahrstätter said the coming rounds of core developer meetings will narrow that set to proposals that can be implemented, tested on developer networks and testnets, and still have a realistic path to launch in 2027. Proposals that miss the cut will be pushed to the following hard fork (a network-wide protocol upgrade). FOCIL, short for Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists, has already been identified as one of the key components of Hegotá. Developers also see native privacy as a potential direction if Hegotá combines framed transactions under EIP-8141, keyed nonce under EIP-8250 and root references under EIP-8272, which they believe could allow privacy applications to operate without relying on third-party intermediaries. Scaling is another major focus. Developers have proposed repricing data resources through EIP-8131 and EIP-8279, along with repricing the cost of state growth through EIP-8368, to prepare Ethereum for a future increase in the gas limit to 600 million. While those changes may be less visible to users than privacy features, they are seen as critical near-term work for expanding capacity. Other candidates include shorter block times under EIP-8198, issuance mechanism adjustments under EIP-8363, an anti-correlation penalty mechanism under EIP-7716, EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine, the network's execution engine) optimization and simplification, and early discussions around proposals tied to zkEVM and post-quantum cryptography. Wahrstätter said Hegotá cannot include every feature the community wants, leaving the core team to balance long-term vision with upgrades that can be delivered in the near term. Most candidate EIPs may ultimately be excluded. Ethereum is now 256 days past the start of the current Glamsterdam upgrade cycle, which is targeted for deployment by the end of this year, while Hegotá is planned for 2027. Core developers and the community are expected to debate EIP priorities over the coming months, with public discussion remaining part of the selection process.