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Ethereum Glamsterdam & Hegota Fork Readiness Assessment #894

@techgangboss

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@techgangboss

Overview

Glamsterdam (Gloas/Amsterdam) is targeting May-June 2026 mainnet activation and is currently in devnet-2. Hegota (Heze/Bogota) targets late 2026 and is in early scoping. This issue tracks all protocol changes that impact mev-commit and the action items needed to maintain compatibility.

The assessment covers the mev-commit monorepo (P2P node, oracle, bridge, CL, contracts), the mev-commit-geth fork, and the mev-commit-relay fork.


Glamsterdam EIPs

EIP-7732: Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) — CL Headliner

Impact: CRITICAL — Core settlement infrastructure breaks

ePBS moves proposer-builder separation into the Ethereum protocol itself. Builders submit SignedExecutionPayloadHeader commitments directly in the BeaconBlockBody. Third-party MEV-Boost relays become architecturally unnecessary.

What breaks

1. Oracle L1Listener (oracle/pkg/l1Listener/l1Listener.go)

The oracle currently polls MEV-Boost relays at /relay/v1/data/bidtraces/proposer_payload_delivered every 2 seconds to determine which builder won each L1 block. It extracts builder_pubkey from the relay response and calls RecordL1Block(blockNumber, winnerBLSKey) on the BlockTracker contract.

With ePBS, builder identity is embedded in the beacon block body as a SignedExecutionPayloadHeader — the relay API may cease to exist or become non-canonical. The oracle needs to be rewritten to derive builder attribution from the beacon chain's ePBS data structures instead.

2. BlockTracker attribution (contracts/contracts/core/BlockTracker.sol)

recordL1Block(blockNumber, winnerBLSKey) depends on relay-sourced builder BLS keys. With ePBS, the builder's identity comes from the in-protocol SignedExecutionPayloadHeader. The BlockTracker's input data source changes fundamentally.

3. mev-commit-relay fork (primev/mev-commit-relay)

The forked relay filters blocks based on ValidatorOptInRouter to ensure only blocks from registered mev-commit providers are forwarded when a proposer is opted-in. With ePBS, the relay fork may become entirely irrelevant. The opt-in enforcement mechanism needs a new enforcement point — potentially an ePBS-native sidecar or a protocol-level filter.

4. Provider registration model

Providers register BLS keys in ProviderRegistry that map to relay-submitted builder pubkeys. With ePBS, builder identity is protocol-native. The BLS key mapping needs to align with ePBS's builder registration mechanism.

5. New validator duty

ePBS introduces "payload timeliness attestations" — a new duty for validators. The opt-in model and validator reward calculations may need to account for this additional responsibility.

Action items

  • Prototype ePBS-native oracle attribution that reads builder identity from SignedExecutionPayloadHeader in the beacon block body (use Glamsterdam devnet-2)
  • Design the migration path: dual-mode oracle that can read from both relays (pre-ePBS) and beacon chain (post-ePBS) during the transition
  • Evaluate the mev-commit-relay fork — determine whether it should be deprecated or converted to an ePBS-native sidecar
  • Update ValidatorOptInRouter enforcement to work at the protocol level rather than relay level
  • Update ProviderRegistry BLS key semantics to align with ePBS builder registration
  • Assess impact on provider commitment logic — builders interacting directly with proposers via ePBS changes the timing and trust model of preconfirmation commitments

EIP-7928: Block-Level Access Lists (BALs) — EL Headliner

Impact: MEDIUM — Dependency updates required, builder strategy changes

BALs add a new block_access_list_hash field to the block header. Blocks must declare all accounts and storage slots accessed during execution, enabling parallel transaction execution. Average overhead is ~70 KiB per block.

What to check

1. Oracle block parsing

The oracle fetches L1 blocks to verify transaction inclusion and position constraints. The new block header field changes the RLP encoding. If the go-ethereum dependency (currently v1.15.11) isn't updated to a Glamsterdam-compatible version, block deserialization will fail.

2. mev-commit-geth fork rebase

primev/mev-commit-geth has custom modifications (BLS verification precompile, zero-fee addresses, POA consensus). These need to be rebased on post-Glamsterdam upstream geth, which will include the BAL implementation. This is a non-trivial rebase given the custom precompiles.

3. Engine API version bump

The CL block builder (cl/blockbuilder/blockbuilder.go) currently uses Engine API V4 (engine_newPayloadV4, engine_forkchoiceUpdatedV3, engine_getPayloadV4). Glamsterdam will likely introduce V5 endpoints. The engine client (cl/ethclient/engineclient.go) needs new method implementations.

4. Builder strategy impact

Builders who commit to preconfirmations must now also construct valid BALs. This adds computational overhead to the commitment decision process and changes the economics of block building — more transactions per block become feasible with parallel execution, altering MEV extraction strategies and potentially increasing the value of preconfirmations.

Action items

  • Track upstream go-ethereum for the Glamsterdam release and plan the dependency bump
  • Plan the mev-commit-geth rebase — identify all custom patches and their compatibility with BAL changes
  • Update the CL engine client to support Engine API V5 (or whatever version Glamsterdam uses) once specs are finalized
  • Evaluate whether BAL construction overhead affects provider commitment latency and adjust commitmentDispatchWindow if needed

Gas Repricing Package (EIP-8007 meta)

Impact: LOW-MEDIUM — Configuration adjustments and bidAmount logic review

EIP-8007 is a meta-EIP organizing all Glamsterdam gas repricing proposals. The goal is to align gas costs with actual computational complexity, targeting a 60 Mgas/s floor. Key sub-EIPs:

EIP Change
EIP-7904 General repricing of 18+ underperforming operations
EIP-2780 Reduce intrinsic transaction gas (currently 21,000)
EIP-7976 Increase calldata floor cost
EIP-7981 Increase access list cost
EIP-8038 State-access gas cost increase (SLOAD/SSTORE)
EIP-8037 State creation gas cost increase
EIP-7778 Block gas accounting without refunds

What to check

1. BN254 precompile gas costs

PreconfManager uses ecAdd (address 0x06) and ecMul for ZK proof verification of commitment openings. If alt_bn128 precompiles are repriced under EIP-7904, gas estimates for commitment opening transactions change. The oracle's gas limit settings may need adjustment.

2. State access repricing

BidderRegistry and ProviderRegistry perform heavy SLOAD/SSTORE operations for deposit/withdrawal/staking flows. EIP-8038 (state-access gas cost increase) makes these operations more expensive. Gas limit estimates in the oracle and P2P node need updating.

3. Intrinsic gas reduction (EIP-2780)

Lower base transaction cost could benefit mev-commit chain throughput if the chain adopts the same repricing. For L1 interactions, it marginally reduces the cost of oracle settlement transactions and bridge operations.

4. Bidder nodes and FastRPC bidAmount logic

Important: The gas repricing package changes the cost of many EVM operations. Bidder nodes and FastRPC need to review and potentially update their bidAmount calculation logic. If the cost of executing a preconfirmed transaction changes due to repricing (cheaper intrinsic gas, more expensive state access, etc.), the expected MEV and therefore optimal bid amounts shift. The decay parameters (decayStartTimestamp, decayEndTimestamp) and slashAmt calculations may also need recalibration against the new gas economics.

Specifically:

  • Bid profitability calculations that factor in gas costs need updated gas estimates
  • FastRPC's backrun simulation and MEV estimation must use the new gas schedule
  • If a preconfirmed transaction's execution cost changes, the margin between MEV extracted and bid amount changes
  • Builders receiving bids also need updated simulation with new gas costs to accurately assess commitment profitability

Action items

  • Audit all contract operations against the new gas schedule once EIP-8007 sub-EIPs are finalized
  • Update DefaultGasLimit, DefaultGasTipCap, DefaultGasFeeCap in the P2P node options
  • Update oracle gas estimates for RecordL1Block and ProcessBuilderCommitmentForBlockNumber calls
  • Review and update bidder node bidAmount calculation logic against the new gas economics
  • Review and update FastRPC MEV estimation and backrun simulation to use the post-Glamsterdam gas schedule
  • Test settlement transactions on Glamsterdam devnets to verify gas estimates

Hegota EIPs (Late 2026)

EIP-7805: FOCIL (Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists) — CL Headliner

Impact: MEDIUM-HIGH — Protocol-level changes to commitment model

FOCIL uses a committee of validators (not a single proposer) to construct inclusion lists of transactions that must be included in blocks. The fork-choice rule enforces compliance. This is the most controversial Hegota proposal due to legal implications for validators.

What this means for mev-commit

1. Constrains builder discretion

Builders currently have full control over block content when issuing preconfirmation commitments. With FOCIL, certain transactions must be included regardless of builder preference. A provider who commits to a specific block layout may find that FOCIL forces inclusion of additional transactions, potentially displacing committed transactions or changing position constraints.

2. Slashing risk for providers

If a provider commits to a preconfirmation but FOCIL-mandated inclusions make that commitment impossible to fulfill (e.g., the block is too full after required inclusions), the provider faces slashing through no fault of their own. The oracle's settlement logic needs to understand FOCIL-forced inclusions when evaluating commitment fulfillment.

3. Changes MEV dynamics

FOCIL reduces censorship-based MEV extraction. Revenue from excluding/delaying transactions decreases. This could reduce overall bid volumes for certain use cases while making inclusion-based preconfirmations more predictable.

Action items (begin when Hegota specs stabilize)

  • Analyze how FOCIL inclusion lists interact with preconfirmation commitments — can a provider check the inclusion list before committing?
  • Design oracle settlement logic that accounts for FOCIL-forced inclusions when evaluating commitment breaches
  • Evaluate whether the bid structure needs a FOCIL-awareness field or whether providers should factor inclusion list constraints into their commitment decisions
  • Assess impact on mev-commit bid volume and provider economics

Current Readiness Status

Component Pectra (Live) Fusaka (Live) Glamsterdam Hegota
go-ethereum dep (v1.15.11) ❌ Needs bump
Engine API (V4) ❌ Needs V5+
mev-commit-geth fork ❌ Needs rebase
Oracle (relay-based attribution) Breaks with ePBS
mev-commit-relay fork May be deprecated
Smart contracts (Solidity 0.8.26) ⚠️ Gas audit needed ❌ FOCIL changes
Epoch/timing (12s slots, 32 slots/epoch) ✅ No changes
EIP-7702 (setcode)
Testnet (Hoodi) ⚠️ Need devnet-2
Bidder/FastRPC bid logic ⚠️ Gas repricing ⚠️ FOCIL

Improvement Opportunities

1. Prepare ePBS Migration Path (Urgent)

Even before ePBS, the oracle's relay dependency is fragile — relay operators can change APIs, go offline, or return inconsistent data. The relay API (/relay/v1/data/bidtraces/proposer_payload_delivered) is not a protocol-guaranteed interface.

Recommendation: Start building an alternative builder attribution path that reads from the beacon chain directly. With EIP-7732, the BeaconBlockBody will contain SignedExecutionPayloadHeader with the builder's identity. A dual-mode oracle (relay + beacon chain) would provide resilience now and a migration path for ePBS.

Steps:

  1. Stand up a Glamsterdam devnet-2 node
  2. Prototype beacon chain-native builder attribution (read SignedExecutionPayloadHeader from the beacon API)
  3. Implement dual-mode oracle: try beacon chain first, fall back to relay
  4. Run both paths in parallel on testnet to verify consistency
  5. Deprecate relay path once ePBS is live on mainnet

2. Leverage Deterministic Proposer Lookahead (EIP-7917, Live Now)

EIP-7917 (shipped in Fusaka) pre-calculates a deterministic proposer schedule in the beacon state at every epoch start. This is directly useful for preconfirmation protocols.

Current state: The P2P node connects to a BeaconAPIURL and the epoch calculator (x/epoch/epoch.go) computes timing. The node already queries proposer duties.

Opportunities:

  • Longer-horizon preconfirmations: With a deterministic proposer schedule, mev-commit can offer preconfirmations for blocks further into the future with higher confidence. Providers can commit earlier when they know the proposer is opted-in.
  • Pre-qualification of proposers: Before a bidder submits a bid, the system can check whether the upcoming proposer(s) are opted-in via ValidatorOptInRouter. If no upcoming proposer is opted-in, the bid has no value — don't send it.
  • Improved ProposerNotifyOffset: The configurable offset in the node options can be tuned more precisely now that the proposer schedule is guaranteed-accurate. This could reduce wasted network traffic and improve commitment timing.
  • Bidder UX: Surface proposer opt-in status for upcoming slots in the bidder API so bidders can make informed decisions about when to bid.

Action items

  • Verify the P2P node is reading from the EIP-7917 deterministic proposer schedule (not the older, non-deterministic beacon API endpoint)
  • Add pre-qualification logic: check upcoming proposer opt-in status before propagating bids
  • Tune ProposerNotifyOffset based on deterministic schedule accuracy
  • Expose upcoming opted-in proposer slots in the bidder API

Timeline

Priority Action Target
P0 Prototype ePBS-native oracle on devnet-2 Now (March 2026)
P0 Plan mev-commit-geth rebase strategy Now
P1 Leverage EIP-7917 proposer lookahead Q1 2026
P1 Audit contracts against gas repricing When EIP-8007 sub-EIPs finalize
P1 Review bidder/FastRPC bidAmount logic for repricing When EIP-8007 sub-EIPs finalize
P2 FOCIL compatibility analysis When Hegota specs stabilize (Q3 2026)

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