Ethereum developers have scheduled the Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists (FOCIL) proposal as the headlining feature for the network’s Hegota upgrade, expected in late 2026. The EIP-7805 is designed to guarantee censorship resistance by forcing validators to include all valid transactions, preventing blocks from ignoring them. Critics warn the change could expose validators to unforeseen risks, particularly concerning sanctioned addresses.
Ethereum is reinforcing its cypherpunk foundations with a major protocol change. The Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists (FOCIL) will headline the network’s upcoming Hegota upgrade, scheduled for the second half of 2026.
The proposal, formalized as EIP-7805, ensures censorship resistance by forcing validators to include all valid transactions. If a proposed block ignores transactions from inclusion lists, the chain can fork away from it to guarantee inclusion.
This change directly addresses past instances where validators ignored certain transactions. Those transactions included ones tied to sanctioned addresses or protocols like the once-sanctioned Tornado Cash.
In a social media post, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated FOCIL works in synergy with EIP-8141. He wrote that “8141 makes not just smart accounts… first-class citizens, it also can do the same for privacy protocols.”
Buterin explained the combination provides “guaranteed rapid inclusion” for almost any valid transaction within one to two slots. He concluded by asserting, “Ethereum is going hard.”
Critics, however, argue the proposal creates significant new risks for network participants. Ethereum developer Ameen Soleimani previously warned the approach was problematic.
Soleimani stated, “And if you don’t see it, you’re either being naive or reckless.” Many core developers maintain that FOCIL’s benefits outweigh its potential downsides despite this criticism.
Buterin later described a broader ambition to create a cypherpunk ethos within Ethereum. He aims to build this as a tightly integrated bolt-on to the present-day system.
