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Apr 2026 — Week 4

· @r2jamong .md

Weekly Ethereum Research Report (2026-04-20 ~ 2026-04-24)

TL;DR

  • Bottom line: This week in Ethereum research, the PQ transition meta-framework, an independent Native AA track, and Lido's rsETH risk architecture all became concrete at the same time, sharpening the Hegota and institutional-operations agenda.
  • Numbers: EIP-8182 was committed on four consecutive days over the 96 hours from 4/20 to 4/23, and Lido disclosed an EarnETH rsETH exposure of ~9%, a $3M First-Loss layer, and a relief proposal of up to 2,500 stETH.
  • Action: Operators and researchers should prioritize tracking PQTS Breakout #7 (4/29), ACDC #178 interop edition (4/30), ACDE #235 call notes, and the Lido relief voting schedule.

Top 3 Takeaways

  1. Ethereum's PQ transition is moving from "replacing cryptographic primitives" to a "transaction-layer meta-framework" -- four axes aligned in one week: EIP-8182 ML-KEM-768 (4/21), EIP-8141 sighash tx-type mix-in (4/22), a new Scheme-Agile Transactions EIP (4/22), and PQTS Breakout #7 (scheduled for 4/29).

    자세히 읽기

    Immediately after Tom Lehman switched the EIP-8182 note delivery path on 4/21 to the NIST FIPS 203 standard ML-KEM-768 (CRYSTALS-Kyber, security category 3), Jochem-Brouwer mixed the transaction type into the EIP-8141 sighash on 4/22 to block cross-type replay, and on the same day PhABC submitted a new EIP for the "Scheme-Agile Transactions" meta-framework. EIP-8182 entered the Draft-to-Review promotion phase with four consecutive commits over 96 hours from 4/20 to 4/23, and PQTS Breakout #7 (4/29) is scheduled to discuss integrating the three axes. Structurally, the outline of Hegota AA+PQ infrastructure is emerging: a sighash = H(type ∥ scheme_id ∥ chain_id ∥ nonce ∥ ...) composition that simultaneously blocks type and scheme cross-replay.

  2. A three-part AA family (EIP-7702 Final + EIP-8164 permanent key delegation + EIP-8225 ECRECOVER Native Key Awareness) formed while Native AA Breakout #001 was held for the first time -- account abstraction has been elevated into an independent track separate from the ACDE main call.

    자세히 읽기

    On 4/22, Native AA #001 (aa/001, issue #2018) held its first session and compared four candidates -- EIP-8141, EIP-7906, EIP-8202, and EIP-8223 -- in parallel across the three axes of compatibility, privacy, and PQ security. On 4/23, prestwich (Succinct Labs) opened the official discussion for EIP-8225 (ECRECOVER Native Key Awareness, draft 4/20, PR 4/11), a bridge EIP that updates the ECRECOVER precompile to recognize EIP-8164 permanent key delegation. The three-layer sequence of EIP-7702 transaction-scoped delegation → EIP-8164 permanent delegation → EIP-8225 precompile awareness opens the first path for implementing onchain key-rotation policies for institutional custody. The independent launch of Native AA #001 on 4/22 was the result of AA quickly filling the ACDE main agenda, and it means one of the core Hegota tracks has begun formal tracking.

  3. At D+5 after the Kelp rsETH exploit, the Lido ecosystem quantitatively disclosed a "4-Layer risk architecture" -- EarnETH ~9% rsETH exposure, automatic burning of a $3M First-Loss layer, a proposed DAO public contribution of 2,500 stETH, and a haircut-based last-resort withdrawal path were officially documented.

    자세히 읽기

    Following the 4/20 release of the Lido CMv2 Node Operator Type Assessment Framework (Aleksandra_G), the 4/23 @LidoFinance 1-8/ thread confirmed a structure where only EarnETH has rsETH exposure (~9%); DVV/GGV/EarnUSD have 0% rsETH exposure; the $3M First-Loss layer is automatically executed by burning DAO vault shares; and a haircut-based withdrawal path is reviewed if resolution is prolonged. On the same day, a Lido Research 11483 post proposed delivering up to 2,500 stETH (~$7.5M~$8M) to a joint Aave relief vehicle, establishing the positioning as an "ecosystem public contribution," not compensation for Lido's own losses. Fireblocks stVaults WalletConnect went officially Live (4/23), opening a Day-1 path for institutional custody, and the sales pitch that "pure stETH delegation = structural isolation from wrapper risk" was quantitatively validated in production. In particular, DVV's 0% LRT exposure was recorded as a core advantage of the CMv2 Decentralization Operator track.


1. Roadmap / Upgrade Change Highlights

Glamsterdam (Scheduled status maintained, ACDE #235 decision data not reflected)

Item Status This week's change
EIP-7732 (ePBS) Scheduled ACDT #078: epbs-devnet-1 status review; Engine API design at ACDE #235 (option A #770 vs option B #786)
EIP-7928 (BAL) Scheduled BlockAccessIndex readjusted from uint16→uint64 (4/19)→uint32 (4/20) + EL→CL RLP/SSZ delivery specified
EIP-2780 (Intrinsic gas reduction) Only Considered item "Clarify interactions with other EIPs" commit (4/22) -- signal of preparation for Scheduled promotion, awaiting ACDE #235 decision
EIP-8037 (State Creation Gas) Considered Two commits: per-dimension block gas limit check + SSTORE frame-scoped refund (4/20)
EIP-8141 (Frame TX) Headliner candidate tx type mixed into sighash (4/22) -- blocks cross-type replay
EIP-8159 (BAL RPC) Draft Empty response standardized as 0x80 (RLP empty string) (4/21)
EIP-8237 (Independent CL/EL Sync) New Draft Authored by potuz (Prysm), first discussion opened 4/23 -- resolves CL/EL coupling
EIP-8142 (BiB) Research Modular redesign (4/21) -- architecture competing/complementary with ePBS
20+ Considered items No change ACDE #235 decision data not reflected -- waiting for call notes publication (D+2~7)

Hegota (Beginning to "materialize" through the EIP-8066 Mascot nomination)

Item Status This week's change
EIP-8066 (Upgrade Mascots) Process @EvilJordan nominated as Hegotá Mascot Wrestler (4/23) -- completed the three-piece set of "name + mascot + facilitator"
ACDC #178 interop edition Scheduled for 4/30 glam + hegotá parallel agenda formalized -- Hegota's first official ACDC appearance
EIP-8141 (Frame TX + PQ) Considered sighash redesign, core AA #001 candidate
EIP-8225 (ECRECOVER Key Awareness) New Draft Authored by prestwich, discussion opened 4/23, depends on EIP-8164
EIP-8164 (Permanent Key Delegation) Draft ML-DSA-44-based PQ key delegation (references maintained since 4/12)
EIP-8182 (Privacy Pool) Draft Updated four consecutive days (4/20~4/23): bbVersion 4.0.0 + 1M-gate circuit + ML-KEM-768 adoption + consistency polishing
Scheme-Agile Transactions New EIP submitted (4/22) Meta-framework for PQ signature transition -- number not yet assigned
Hegota data listing Absent for 18th day Technical tracking may begin from ACDC #178 (4/30)

Fusaka / The Verge / The Splurge (Long-term tracks)

Item Status This week's change
EIP-7979 (CALLSUB/ENTERSUB/RETURNSUB) Draft Two consecutive Greg Colvin commits (4/23) -- Colvin-family EVM specs reactivated
EIP-7981 Glamsterdam Considered Toni W. pseudocode simplification (4/23)
EIP-8163 (EXTENSION 0xae) Hegota candidate Proposed for the ACDE #235 Hegota EVM track
Foundations of EVM Control Flow New EIP (4/22) Authored by Danno Ferrin -- post-EOF EVM control-flow meta-spec
State Tiering by Write Age New EIP (4/21) Authored by Ng Wei Han -- reopens The Purge discourse
Capacity Oracles Research (4/23) Maryam Bahrani × Mike Neuder -- generalization of delegation-verification
Long-term design discourse Five consecutive days n-VM (4/19) → DES (4/20) → WE+ZKP (4/21) → PTC+affine (4/22) → Capacity Oracles (4/23)

2. EIP Status Changes (EIP Upgrade Snapshot 4/20 Mon vs 4/24 Fri diff)

Official stage diff from Monday to Friday

Upgrade 4/20 (Mon) 4/24 (Fri) Change
Dencun Included 1 (EIP-4844) Category absent ❗ Dencun category + EIP-4844 file itself disappeared
Pectra Included 3 (2537, 2935, 6110) 2 (2537, 2935) ❗ EIP-6110 left Pectra Final level
Pectra Declined 5 (3540, 3670, 4200, 4750, 6206) 4 (3540, 3670, 4200, 5450) EIP-4750/EIP-6206 exited, EIP-5450 newly added
Fusaka Declined 5 (3540, 3670, 4200, 4750, 6206) 5 (3540, 3670, 4200, 5450, 5920) EIP-4750/EIP-6206 exited, EIP-5450/EIP-5920 added
Glamsterdam Declined 2 (2926, 5920) 4 (2926, 5920, 6404, 6466) EIP-6404/EIP-6466 added (ACDE/225 Declined history restored)
Glamsterdam Considered 1 (EIP-2780) 1 (EIP-2780) No change -- ACDE #235 decision data not reflected
Hegota Entirely absent Entirely absent Continued for 18th day

Five-day consecutive drift and fact-integrity escalation

This week, from 4/20 to 4/24, nondeterministic drift became entrenched, with the same EIPs appearing and disappearing day after day for four consecutive days. On Friday (4/24), in particular, EIP-6110 (Pectra Final Included) dropped out, escalating the issue beyond the previous level of "partial appearances in the Declined list" into a fact-integrity problem that shakes even Final/Included records. On Thursday (4/23), the entire Dencun category disappeared from upgrades_tracked, and it had not recovered by Friday.

⚠️ EIP upgrade status cannot be relied on in isolation -- the hypothesis of nondeterministic ordering/filtering in scripts/fetch_forkcast.py or the upstream data build remains strong, and this week's note has made quadruple cross-checking with Pectra Final EIPs (historical record) + ACD call notes + GitHub commits + the meta EIP (EIP-7773) mandatory.

Substantive spec progress (not reflected in data)

Change type Count Details
Official stage changes 0 ACDE #235 (4/23) decision data not reflected
Substantive progress (not reflected in Snapshot) 10+ EIP-7928 near-freeze at uint32, EIP-8037 per-dim+refund, EIP-8141 sighash, EIP-8159 0x80, EIP-8182 four consecutive days, EIP-8142 modularization, EIP-2780 interaction clarification, new Scheme-Agile, new Foundations of EVM Control Flow, new State Tiering by Write Age
New Eth Magicians discussions 3 EIP-8237, EIP-8225, EIP-8066 Hegotá Mascot

3. Key Validator / Infrastructure Issues

Lido ecosystem -- Kelp rsETH follow-up 4-Layer risk architecture disclosed

Layer Mechanism Scale Trigger
Layer 1 (structural disclosure) Only EarnETH has rsETH exposure; other vaults 0% EarnETH ~9% (~$21.6M), DVV/GGV/EarnUSD 0% -
Layer 2 (first defense) EarnETH First-Loss Protection $3M (DAO Treasury funded) Automatic execution when losses are confirmed (DAO vault share burn)
Layer 3 (governance) Proposal for DAO public relief contribution Up to 2,500 stETH (~$7.5M~$8M) If Snapshot → Aragon vote passes (4/23 proposal)
Layer 4 (safety valve) Haircut-based last-resort withdrawal TBD (discount-rate based) Curator discretion if resolution is prolonged

Voluntary disclosure of negative information: The GGV subvault is currently generating negative returns due to loop staking + a borrowing-rate spike (4/23 thread 7/). This is consistent with the "transparency norm" in DIP 2.0 accountability feedback (katernoir, 4/22).

Direct impact on validator operations

Priority Item Details Timing
Urgent Lido CMv2 Node Operator Type Assessment Framework Formalizes 6 types, 7-axis scoring, and semiannual reassessment. Client diversity -10~+30 / Geography -10~+20 / Infra -20~+10 Released 4/20
Urgent EarnETH ~9% rsETH exposure + $3M First-Loss activation conditions specified Establishes a quantified boundary for LRT wrapper risk -- production validation of the Curated Operator "Pure stETH" sales pitch Confirmed 4/23
Urgent Fireblocks stVaults WalletConnect officially Live Opens a Lido V3 access path while institutions retain existing custody policies Live 4/23
Medium-term New EIP-8237 Independent CL/EL Sync (potuz) Resolves CL/EL coupling → shorter node recovery time and possible separate deployment models 4/23 Draft
Medium-term ACDE #235 decisions (2780/8037/Glamsterdam-devnet-1 EL) Waiting for call notes (D+2~7). Intrinsic gas reduction requires remeasuring stETH/ETP fee models Held 4/23, notes pending
Medium-term Three-part AA family (EIP-7702+EIP-8164+EIP-8225) Implementation path for onchain key-rotation policies in institutional custody Ongoing
Medium-term DIP 2.0 accountability feedback (katernoir, 4/22) Calls for quantifying Lido governance Delegate KPIs -- five axes: net new delegation / concentration / outreach and others 4/22 post
Medium-term FalconX·Fireblocks·Credora Poolside Institutional (4/23) Awaiting Credora stETH rating methodology. "Operational governance" axis may link to CMv2 Operator Set results Held 4/23
Long-term Lido DAO 2,500 stETH rsETH relief proposal Ecosystem public-contribution positioning -- demonstrates willingness to share system risk to Credora/Fireblocks/FalconX review panels Proposed 4/23, vote not yet held
Long-term Capacity Oracles (Maryam Bahrani × Mike Neuder, 4/23) Need for objective metrics to measure "actual workload invariants" in TEE-based builders + ZK verification 12~18 month track

Infrastructure monitoring status

Item Status This week's change
Four devnets in parallel Operations continue ACDT #078 (4/20): Proposal to skip BAL devnet-4 → go directly to Glamsterdam-devnet-0 (MariusVanDerWijden)
bal-devnet-4 Launching 4/24 (interop week) First devnet to reflect EIP-7928 uint32 + EIP-8159 0x80
epbs-devnet-2 Launching 4/24 (interop week) Multi-client interop validation for EIP-7732 PTC
FOCIL consensus-specs PR #5138 Merged INCLUSION_LIST_DUE_BPS=6667bp (67%) / PROPOSER_INCLUSION_LIST_CUTOFF_BPS=9167bp (92%)
Client release gap 25th day Geth v1.17.2 / Lighthouse v8.1.3 CRITICAL recommendations remain unresolved
Official call notes None published ACDT #078, RPC #025, FOCIL #033, AA #001, PQI #036, ACDE #235 D+1~D+4
Interop week starts 4/24~4/30 ACDT #079 (4/27) skipped by decision -- replaced by on-site collaboration (parithosh)
EIP-6110 Pectra Final dropout New on 4/24 Data-pipeline operational risk escalated to urgent priority

4. Core Protocol Call Decisions

This week 7 calls were held (weekly summary: 2026-04-24-weekly-call-summary):

Date Call No. Core outcome
4/20 (Mon) ACDT #078 EIP-7928 BlockAccessIndex uint16→uint64 type change (PR #11535). Proposal to skip BAL devnet-4 → go directly to Glamsterdam-devnet-0 (MariusVanDerWijden). ACDT #079 (4/27) skipped due to interop week
4/20 (Mon) RPC Standards #025 eth_capabilities (PR #755) design, error-code fixtures (PR #784) forced into hive adoption. txpool namespace spec (PR #758) merged
4/21 (Tue) FOCIL Breakout #033 consensus-specs PR #5138 merged -- IL deadline separation formalized (attesters 67%, proposer 92%). EIP-7805 execution spec Amsterdam branch merge completed
4/22 (Wed) Native AA #001 (first) Independent AA breakout series launched. Four candidates -- EIP-8141 / EIP-7906 / EIP-8202 / EIP-8223 -- compared across compatibility, privacy, and PQ security
4/22 (Wed) PQI #036 Regular cadence moved to weekly -- changed from biweekly. Signal that PQ migration implementation phase has begun (hosted by will-corcoran)
4/23 (Thu) ACDE #235 Glamsterdam Engine API decision (option A PR #770 vs option B PR #786), EIP-2780/8037 + Hegota EVM track (EIP-8163 0xae, EIP-7979 CALLSUB). Call notes not published -- expected confirmation at ACDC #178
4/24 (Thu)~4/30 Interop week bal-devnet-4 + epbs-devnet-2 simultaneous launch, final decision on Glamsterdam-devnet-0 kickoff scope

Details of key technical decisions

1. ACDT #078 -- Glamsterdam devnet strategy compression:

  • MariusVanDerWijden: because the only additional change needed for EL to support full Glamsterdam is execution-apis PR #770 (EL reorg to head's ancestor), BAL testing is possible with non-ePBS CL nodes even if the separate BAL-devnet-4 stage is skipped and the process goes directly to Glamsterdam-devnet-0
  • Interop week begins on 4/24 -- this week's discussion may compress the sequential plan for four devnets
  • EIP-7928 BlockAccessIndex type expanded to uint64 (PR #11535, execution-specs PR #2713) → later readjusted to uint32

2. Native AA #001 (first meeting) -- systematic review of the Hegotá AA track begins:

  • Parallel comparison of EIP-8141 (Frame Transaction, tx type 0x06 + 5 opcodes, up to 64 frames, includes PQ security), EIP-7906 (Transaction Assertions via State Diff), EIP-8202 (Schemed Transaction), and EIP-8223 (Contract Payer Transaction)
  • AA separated into an independent breakout after quickly filling the ACDE main-call agenda
  • Aligned with the 4/23 opening of discussion for EIP-8225 ECRECOVER Native Key Awareness (prestwich) -- a step toward completing the AA family

3. FOCIL Breakout #33 -- inclusion-list timing parameters formalized:

  • consensus-specs PR #5138: INCLUSION_LIST_DUE_BPS=6667bp (67% of slot, attester IL view deadline) / PROPOSER_INCLUSION_LIST_CUTOFF_BPS=9167bp (92% of slot, final proposer/builder acceptance deadline)
  • Ensures practical time (about 3 seconds) for EL to include new transactions in payloads
  • FOCIL spec moves from conceptual design to implementation readiness

4. ACDE #235 -- Glamsterdam Engine API + Hegotá EVM track in parallel:

  • Glamsterdam: expected decision between Engine API option A (@mkalinin, #770 "EL must support reorg to head's ancestor") and option B (@qu0b, #786 "Restrict no-reorg to prefix of known finalized")
  • Details of EIP-8237 (new proposal by @potuz) need confirmation after notes are published
  • EIP-8037 testing concerns (@marioevz) raised again -- repeated from the previous ACDE #234
  • Hegotá: EIP-8163 (reserving EXTENSION 0xae opcode, INVALID on L1), EIP-7979 (CALLSUB/ENTERSUB/RETURNSUB -- 30% gas reduction, ZK circuit optimization) proposed

5. PQI #036 -- weekly cadence + PQTS Breakout #7 announced:

  • PQI changed from biweekly to weekly = PQ migration implementation work is ramping up
  • PQTS Breakout #7 scheduled for 4/29 13:00 UTC -- expected discussion on integrating the three axes of Scheme-Agile + EIP-8141 sighash + EIP-8182 ML-KEM


5. Key Schedule for Next Week

Date Event Core agenda
4/24~30 (currently ongoing) Interop week bal-devnet-4 + epbs-devnet-2 simultaneous launch, final decision on Glamsterdam-devnet-0 kickoff scope
4/27 (Mon) ACDT #079 Skipped (replaced by on-site interop week collaboration, parithosh announcement)
4/28 (Tue, estimated) ACDE #235 call notes publication EIP-2780 promotion decision, EIP-8037 decision, Engine API PR #770 vs #786, EIP-8237 details
4/29 (Wed) PQTS Breakout #7 (13:00 UTC) Integrated discussion across Scheme-Agile + EIP-8141 sighash + EIP-8182 ML-KEM-768 four axes -- intersections with the AA family
4/29 (Wed, expected) AA Breakout #002 Deeper design issues for EIP-8225 + EIP-8164 + EIP-8141
4/29 (Wed, expected) PQI #037 Weekly PQ migration implementation breakout
4/30 (Thu) ACDC #178 interop edition (14:00 UTC) 🔴 Main watchpoint. glam + hegotá parallel agenda formalized -- first official ACDC appearance of Hegota + whether EIP-8163/EIP-7979 are included in Hegota + EIP-7805/EIP-7928 integration status
5/4 (Mon) Stateless Call #51 (13:00 UTC) Regular The Verge track, progress on EIP-4762/EIP-6800
5/6 (Wed, estimated) ACDE #236 (two-week cycle) Whether Hegota receives its first agenda slot
TBD Lido DAO 2,500 stETH relief vote Watch Snapshot → Aragon vote schedule
TBD CMC Aragon vote Official start still unconfirmed -- if passed, resolves Flow Traders/Bitwise/CNS RERC
TBD Official Credora stETH rating release Awaiting Poolside (4/23) recording + follow-up report

Biggest watchpoint next week: The results from interop week (4/24~30) will be officially aggregated at ACDC #178 interop edition (4/30). This is the first ACDC where the glam + hegotá parallel agenda appears, and it is the likeliest point for official tracking of Hegota EIP upgrade status to begin. PQTS Breakout #7 (4/29) is the checkpoint for whether the PQ track moves from "primitive replacement" to "transaction envelope integration" through an integrated discussion of Scheme-Agile + EIP-8141 + EIP-8182 + ML-KEM-768. The ACDE #235 call notes (D+5~D+7) need to confirm whether EIP-2780 is promoted to Scheduled, how EIP-8037 Repricings are decided, and whether Engine API option A/B is adopted.


Weekly Core Metrics

Metric Last week (4/17) This week (4/24) Change
Glamsterdam Scheduled 2 items (7732, 7928) 2 items -
Glamsterdam Considered 1 item (EIP-2780) 1 item - (ACDE #235 decision not reflected)
Glamsterdam Declined 2 items (2926, 5920) 4 items (2926, 5920, 6404, 6466) +2 (ACDE/225 Declined restored)
Pectra Included 3 items (2537, 2935, 6110) 2 items (2537, 2935) ❗ EIP-6110 Final dropout (drift)
Hegota data Entirely absent Entirely absent 18th day (cultural materialization begins with EIP-8066 Mascot nomination)
Dencun category Present (EIP-4844) Absent ❗ Category + EIP-4844 disappeared
Weekly protocol calls 3 7 ACDT#78, RPC#25, FOCIL#33, AA#1 (new), PQI#36, ACDE#235, interop week begins
Snapshot drift Six EOF items restored Five consecutive days + EIP-6110 Final dropout Escalated into a fact-integrity problem
PQ commits (weekly) EIP-8182 2 items EIP-8182 four consecutive days + EIP-8141 sighash + new Scheme-Agile PQ transaction envelope integration phase
New EIP proposals 1 (State Tiering) 4 (Scheme-Agile, EVM Control Flow, EIP-8237, EIP-8225 discussion opened) AA+client architecture activation
Client release gap 22nd day 25th day Geth v1.17.2 / Lighthouse v8.1.3 CRITICAL unresolved
AA track independence None Native AA #001 held for the first time (4/22) Independent breakout separated from ACDE
CMv2 Operator Set Landscape original proposal Type Assessment Framework officially released (4/20) Operating-manual stage with 6 types and 7-axis scoring
EarnETH rsETH exposure Qualitative notice ~9% quantitatively confirmed + $3M First-Loss execution conditions specified Quantified LRT wrapper-risk boundary established
Institutional pipeline WisdomTree/Copper/Fireblocks triple track Fireblocks stVaults WalletConnect Live + FalconX·Credora Poolside Day-1 technical realization + credit-rating axis expanded
Lido DAO public contribution None Proposal for up to 2,500 stETH rsETH relief Precedent for sharing ecosystem system risk
Long-term design discourse Three consecutive days (n-VM, DES, WE+ZKP) Five consecutive days (+ PTC+affine, Capacity Oracles) The Splurge design space keeps expanding
Hegotá Mascot Not designated @EvilJordan nominated (EIP-8066) Name + mascot + facilitator three-piece package completed
Inclusion List spec Under review consensus-specs PR #5138 merged (attesters 67%, proposer 92%) FOCIL implementation readiness stage

Written by: @r2jamong
Data sources: ethereum/pm, EIP Upgrade Snapshot, Ethereum Magicians, ethresear.ch, research.lido.fi, blog.lido.fi, Lido Finance X, Fireblocks, Credora, FalconX