Weekly Ethereum Research Report (2026-03-09 ~ 2026-03-13)
TL;DR
- Bottom line: With ACDE #232 call notes still unpublished and Forkcast unchanged for 23 consecutive days, EF's "Harden the L1" and Lido Earn plus CSM slashing emerged as core issues for protocol priorities and operator economics.
- Numbers: Six protocol calls were held this week, Lido EarnETH/EarnUSD recorded $150M+ in initial deposits, and the CSM slashing involved 6 validators with <1 ETH in losses covered by operator bonds.
- Action: Researchers and operators should prioritize tracking the publication of ACDE #232 call notes, ACDC #177 on 3/19, the stVaults 0% fee deadline (3/31), and the follow-on impact of EarnETH/EarnUSD and the CSM bond mechanism.
Top 3 Takeaways
ACDE #232 was held, but call notes remain unpublished, extending the freeze in EIP inclusion status to 23 consecutive days — whether EIP-8141 Frame Transaction has been officially confirmed as the Hegota headliner remains unverified.
자세히 읽기
ACDE #232 on 3/12 discussed design updates to EIP-8141 Frame Transaction (the default account concept, APPROVE compatibility, and native EOA support) and concerns around EIP-8037 gas complexity (Erigon raising the "four-dimensional gas" problem). However, Meeting232.md remained unpublished through Friday, so Forkcast recorded zero status changes for 23 consecutive days. EIP-8141 showed a positive signal by committing two rapid spec updates on the day of the call (adding approval bits and organizing frame access opcodes).
EF announced episode 1 of the "Harden the L1" protocol cluster, formalizing post-quantum security, censorship resistance, and network resilience as protocol priorities, while the official Ethereum account posted a 22-part Neo-Cypherpunk privacy narrative.
자세히 읽기
EF released "Harden the L1" as the first episode of the "Protocol Cluster Priorities" series, which structures protocol development priorities, setting post-quantum cryptography, censorship resistance (FOCIL, ePBS), and network resilience as official agenda items. At the same time, the official Ethereum X account emphasized privacy as a core value through a 22-part Neo-Cypherpunk series, supporting the legitimacy of privacy EIPs such as EIP-8182 Privacy Pool.
Lido formally launched EarnETH/EarnUSD vaults ($250M+ deposited) and completed real-world validation of the bond mechanism through a CSM slashing incident (6 validators, <1 ETH loss) — the stVaults 0% fee deadline (3/31) has compressed to D-18.
자세히 읽기
With the Lido Earn brand relaunch, the EarnETH + EarnUSD vaults launched and achieved $150M+ in initial deposits, while the DAO activated a $5M senior loss mechanism. Meanwhile, 6 validator slashings occurred in CSM, but operator bonds fully covered the losses, proving the bond mechanism's real-world effectiveness. As the stVaults 0% infrastructure fee deadline (3/31) approaches at D-18, pressure is increasing for operators to transition their fee structures.
1. Roadmap/Upgrade Change Highlights
Glamsterdam (devnets progressing in parallel)
| Item | Status | This week's change |
|---|---|---|
| EIP-7732 (ePBS) | Scheduled | epbs-devnet-0 in progress. Teku/Nimbus not yet joined |
| EIP-7928 (BAL) | Scheduled | bal-devnet-2 wrapping up, bal-devnet-3 in progress |
| EIP-8037 (State Creation Gas) | Considered | Erigon raised "four-dimensional gas" complexity concerns (ACDE #232) |
| EIP-8178 (SSZ Engine API) | Newly registered | Binary SSZ Engine API benchmark: 3~20x faster encoding than JSON |
| Overall gas repricing | 20 Considered items | Forkcast unchanged for 23 consecutive days |
Hegota (AA headliner competition intensifies)
| Item | Status | This week's change |
|---|---|---|
| EIP-7805 (FOCIL) | Scheduled | FOCIL #30 Breakout held. IL strategy analysis (Top Fee ~92% overlap → hybrid approach recommended) |
| EIP-8141 (Frame Transaction) | Discussed at ACDE #232 → call notes unpublished | Added default account, APPROVE compatibility, approval bits, and organized frame access opcodes. Confirmation status unverified |
| EIP-8130 (Permissionless Payer) | Proposed | Permissionless payer update |
| EIP-8175 (Composable Transaction) | Newly registered | Nethermind proposal. Forms a three-way AA headliner race (EIP-8130 vs EIP-8141 vs EIP-8175) |
Fusaka / PQ (stable + technically maturing)
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Fusaka Included | Maintained at 13 items |
| blob-devnet-0 | In progress |
| PQ Interop #030 | devnet-5 signature design: adopted "2 keys per validator." ZK-friendly encoding remains a blocking issue |
New EIP/ERC appearances
| EIP/ERC | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| EIP-8175 | Composable Transaction | Nethermind-proposed AA headliner candidate (three-way race) |
| EIP-8178 | Binary SSZ Transport for Engine API | Standardizes CL-EL SSZ communication |
| EIP-8189 | snap/2 | Snap v2 protocol officially registered as an EIP (BAL-based state healing) |
| EIP-8159 | eth/71 Response Cap | Response size limit reduced from 10MiB to a 2MiB soft cap |
2. EIP Status Changes (Forkcast Monday 3/9 vs Friday 3/13)
Summary of upgrade inclusion status changes
| Change type | Count |
|---|---|
| Official stage changes | 0 |
| Substantive progress (not reflected in Forkcast) | 3 — EIP-8189 snap/2 registration, EIP-8175 Composable Tx registration, EIP-8141 rapid spec updates |
Forkcast unchanged for 23 consecutive days (since 2/20). Because ACDE #232 (3/12) call notes remain unpublished, reflection of official status continues to be delayed. The next possible change point is after the call notes are published or ACDC #177 (3/19).
Status by upgrade (as of 3/13)
| Upgrade | Scheduled | Considered | Included | Declined | Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glamsterdam | 2 (7732, 7928) | 20 | - | 33 | 4 |
| Hegota | 1 (7805) | 0 | - | - | 1 (8105) |
| Fusaka | - | - | 13 | - | - |
| Pectra | - | - | 12 (completed) | - | - |
A total of 118 items are being tracked. No change from Monday to Friday.
3. Major Validator/Infrastructure Issues
Direct impact on validator operations
| Priority | Item | Details | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urgent | Lido EarnETH/EarnUSD vault launch | DAO $5M senior loss mechanism. $150M+ initial deposits | 3/13 |
| Urgent | CSM slashing incident | 6 validators, <1 ETH loss. Bond mechanism real-world validation completed | 3/13 |
| Urgent | stVaults 0% fee deadline | D-18 (3/31 deadline). Pressure to transition operator fee structures | In progress |
| Mid-term | EF DVT-lite 72K ETH | Confirmed by Vitalik. Direction for protocol-level DVT implementation | Confirmed 3/10 |
| Mid-term | Lido Q4 2025 validator metrics | DVT grew 4x YoY (711,456 ETH). Geth 37% vs Nethermind 39%. Gini coefficient 0.001 | 3/12 |
| Mid-term | SenseiNode stVault Professional support | First curated-to-stVault transition case | 3/11 |
| Mid-term | A41 node operations ending | Possible Curated Set seat vacancy | 3/12 |
| Long-term | GhostPool encrypted mempool | ZK-based sender anonymization. Extended to metadata protection | Proposed 3/10 |
Infrastructure monitoring status
| Item | Status | This week's change |
|---|---|---|
| ePBS devnet-0 | Interop in progress | PTC lookahead issue being resolved. Teku/Nimbus not yet joined |
| BAL devnet-2/3 | Running in parallel | devnet-2 wrapping up, devnet-3 in progress |
| blob-devnet-0 | In progress | ACDT #073 review completed |
| Snap v2 proposal | New | BAL-based state healing — round trips shortened from 100s to 2~3. EIP-8189 officially registered |
| Binary SSZ Engine API | Benchmark | 3~20x encoding speed versus JSON, 2x reduction in wire size |
| EIP-8159 eth/71 | Spec change | Response hard cap reduced 80%, from 10MiB to a 2MiB soft cap |
| ACDT #074 | Cancellation candidate | 3/16 call expected to be canceled if there are no urgent agenda items |
4. Key Protocol Call Decisions
Six calls held this week:
| Date | Call | Number | Key outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/9 (Mon) | ACDT | #073 | Concurrent review of 3 devnets (epbs-devnet-0, bal-devnet-2/3, blob-devnet-0). Confirmed eth/71 cap adjustment |
| 3/9 (Mon) | RPC Standards | #022 | Versioning model finalized. Error code discussion ongoing |
| 3/10 (Tue) | FOCIL Breakout | #030 | IL strategy analysis: Top Fee ~92% overlap (bandwidth waste) → hybrid + 0-slot delay recommended. CL/EL testing officially started |
| 3/11 (Tue) | PQ Interop | #030 | devnet-5 signature: adopted "2 keys per validator." ZK-friendly encoding blocking |
| 3/11 (Tue) | zkEVM | #002 | Tamago project update |
| 3/12 (Thu) | ACDE | #232 | Discussed EIP-8141 design updates, EIP-8037 gas complexity concerns (Erigon), and SSZ Engine API. Call notes unpublished |
Details of major technical decisions
1. ACDE #232 — confirmation deferred because call notes are unpublished:
- EIP-8141 Frame Transaction: Felix Lange presented design updates for the default account concept and APPROVE compatibility
- EIP-8037: Erigon raised the "four-dimensional gas" complexity issue — highlighting the need to simplify the gas model
- SSZ Engine API: multi-client implementation discussed
- On the day of the call, approval bits + frame access opcodes spec commits landed for EIP-8141 → positive signal
2. FOCIL #030 — IL strategy optimization:
- Analysis based on BlockNative data: Top Fee strategy has ~92% overlap (bandwidth-inefficient), while Censorship-Only has ~60% (still inefficient)
- Hybrid approach + 0-slot delay recommended as the optimal combination
- Besu/Teku/Lodestar client implementations progressing, CL/EL testing officially started
3. PQ Interop #030 — practical signature design decision:
- Adopted "2 keys per validator" as the devnet-5 signature method (removing one-time signature constraints)
- ZK-friendly encoding implementation is delayed indefinitely — remains a blocking issue
5. This Week's Recommended Topic Status
| Date | Recommendation 1 | Recommendation 2 | Top score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/9 | ACDE #232 preview — Glamsterdam gas repricing + AA headliner | Vitalik's DAO democracy — ZK governance tools | 0.914 |
| 3/10 | GhostPool — ZK-based sender-anonymizing encrypted mempool | EF 72K ETH DVT-lite — institutional staking standardization | 0.896 |
| 3/11 | Snap v2 — BAL-based evolution of node sync architecture | SenseiNode stVault Professional transition — Lido V3 operator landscape | 0.896 |
| 3/12 | ACDE #232 outcome analysis — AA headliner confirmation | Lido Q4 2025 validator metrics — Curated Operator entry benchmark | 8.90 |
| 3/13 | EF "Harden the L1" official start — PQ, censorship resistance, resilience | Lido Earn expansion + CSM slashing — real-world validation of the bond mechanism | 9.45 |
Priority writing targets selected
| Rank | Topic | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EF "Harden the L1" — post-quantum, censorship-resistance, and network-resilience framework | First episode of EF's official protocol priority series + direct validator/operator impact + linked to Neo-Cypherpunk narrative + gap in Korean-language analysis |
| 2 | Lido Earn + CSM slashing — real-world validation of stVaults economics | EarnETH/EarnUSD launch + CSM bond real-world validation + stVaults 0% fee deadline (D-18) + directly tied to curated operator goals |
| 3 | Three-way AA headliner race — EIP-8130 vs EIP-8141 vs EIP-8175 | Competitive landscape forming across 3 EIPs + waiting for ACDE #232 discussion outcome + key variable in determining the Hegota fork structure |
6. Key Schedule for Next Week
| Date | Event | Key agenda |
|---|---|---|
| 3/16 (Mon) | ACDT #074 | Cancellation candidate — cancel if no urgent agenda items. If canceled, next ACDT is 3/23 |
| 3/17 (Tue) | FCR #005 | Discussion of integrated sequencing for the ePBS/FOCIL block pipeline. 11:00 UTC |
| 3/18 (Tue) | PQ Interop #031 (expected) | devnet-3 progress + ZK encoding timeline update |
| 3/19 (Thu) | ACDC #177 | Glamsterdam CL discussion + Hegota timeline — resumes after a 4-week gap due to ACDC #176 cancellation |
| 3/24 (Tue) | FOCIL #031 | Further specification of IL hybrid strategy design |
| TBD | ACDE #232 call notes published | Confirm whether EIP-8141 is the headliner + confirm gas repricing decisions |
Biggest watch point for next week: The timing of ACDE #232 call note publication is the top priority — it will determine the end of the 23-day EIP freeze and whether EIP-8141 is officially confirmed as the Hegota headliner. ACDC #177 on 3/19 resumes CL discussion after a 4-week gap, and is expected to cover the FOCIL devnet-0 timeline and the Glamsterdam CL fork schedule. FCR #5 (3/17) will discuss how to integrate the block pipelines of ePBS and FOCIL.
Weekly Key Metrics
| Metric | Last week (3/6) | This week (3/13) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glamsterdam Scheduled | 2 items | 2 items | - |
| Glamsterdam Considered | 20 items | 20 items | - (23 days unchanged) |
| Hegota Scheduled | 1 item | 1 item | - |
| Hegota EL headliner | Breakout held | ACDE #232 discussion completed (call notes unpublished) | Waiting for confirmation |
| AA headliner competition | EIP-8141 likely | Three-way race (EIP-8130/EIP-8141/EIP-8175) | EIP-8175 newly joined |
| Fusaka Included | 13 items | 13 items | - |
| Weekly protocol calls | 7 calls + 1 cancellation | 6 calls | ACDT#73, RPC#22, FOCIL#30, PQI#30, zkEVM#2, ACDE#232 |
| Forkcast status changes | 0 (16 days) | 0 (23 days) | 7 additional days frozen |
| Lido operator changes | 3 | 3 | SenseiNode stVault, A41 ending, CSM slashing |
| Lido Earn | Planned launch | EarnETH/EarnUSD formally launched | $150M+ deposited |
| PQ Devnet | Devnet-3→4 started | devnet-5 signature design decided | Adopted "2 keys per validator" |
| New EIP registrations | 6 | 4 | EIP-8175, EIP-8178, EIP-8189, EIP-8159 |
Written by: @r2jamong
Data sources: ethereum/pm, ethereum/forkcast, Ethereum Magicians, ethresear.ch, research.lido.fi