The next major update for Ethereum, dubbed Fusaka, is slated for the second half of the year. The team plans to execute the hard fork in September or October, according to Ethereum Foundation co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak.
Important Clarification on EOF debate
There’s a significant EOF debate today, but one crucial misunderstanding needs to be addressed clearly:
The current EOF discussion is NOT related to the upcoming Pectra upgrade, scheduled for May 7th. The Pectra upgrade does not include…
— Tomasz K. Stańczak (@tkstanczak) April 28, 2025
The manager noted that a precise deployment schedule for the upgrade is not yet available.
Stańczak also mentioned that preparations for the May 7 activation of the Pectra hard fork are “on track.”
Meanwhile, core developer Tim Beiko has excluded the Ethereum Object Format (EOF) improvement from the Fusaka specification. The decision aims to transform the Ethereum virtual machine’s bytecode structure to enhance smart contract execution efficiency and reduce gas costs.
EOF was removed from the Fusaka network upgrade today. I’ve articulated my rationale for the decision in the PR to the Meta EIP: https://t.co/GT2Yn41oMI
I recommend watching the full call for context: https://t.co/jHnUTVm7Vb
— timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko) April 28, 2025
Beiko cited “technical uncertainty” regarding the update’s impact, which could have affected the hard fork’s timeline.
“All debates about including EOF revealed flaws in the team’s prioritization process. Although core developers initially repeatedly supported EOF, many prominent community members raised objections in each case,” the programmer added.
He noted that a key component of Fusaka will be the implementation of PeerDAS. The protocol aims to reduce node load, improve data distribution efficiency, and increase network throughput. The solution will also gradually allow the size of binary data arrays (BLOB) to expand to 32 MB.
In 2024, developer Péter Szilágyi described PeerDAS as a blow to home Ethereum stakers and a threat to network decentralization. It was initially expected that the protocol would be included in Pectra.
Ethereum Foundation Unveils New Governance Structure
The non-profit organization behind the blockchain ecosystem’s development has formalized management changes and outlined leadership responsibilities.
8/ Lastly, an update about the structure of the EF management team and board, and the functions of each.https://t.co/3fnu8w1hZq
— Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) April 28, 2025
Board members, along with newly appointed co-directors Stańczak and Xiao-Wei Wang, will include:
- Bastian Aue — focuses on organizational strategy, hiring, and staff training;
- Josh Stark — project implementation, communications, and marketing.
The Ethereum Foundation’s board of directors includes:
- Vitalik Buterin, project founder — continues to provide technical and intellectual leadership to the broader Ethereum ecosystem;
- Aya Miyaguchi, president — defines the organization’s vision alongside other board members. Manages several key external relations;
- Patrick Storchenegger, Swiss attorney, serves as a representative for legal and compliance matters;
- Xiao-Wei Wang — acts as a liaison between the board, executives, and management.
In the near future, the structure will present the foundation’s management team with guidelines and goals for the coming years.
Stańczak and Wang outlined the ecosystem’s key development areas for the next 12 months:
- scaling the main network and BLOB objects;
- enhancing user experience, including interaction with L2 solutions and the application layer.
In February, Ethereum developers discussed accelerating network updates.