Vitalik Buterin says Hegotá could be Ethereum’s last ‘normal’ fork
Vitalik Buterin said Ethereum’s Hegotá upgrade, planned for 2027, may be the last “normal” fork before the network shifts toward more advanced cryptography and infrastructure such as recursive STARKs, formal verification, optimized consensus, and quantum-safe cryptography. He said PeerDAS marks the start of Ethereum’s move from a basic blockchain into a “cryptographic world computer.” That evolution would push more computation offchain while using Ethereum to verify results, settle transactions, and preserve shared onchain state. The base layer would increasingly focus on verification and coordination rather than executing everything directly. The idea sparked debate over how much should remain onchain. Some argued that offchain computation could make nodes lighter and more efficient, but key records should still stay onchain so users can inspect and interact with applications without relying on intermediaries. Others said the model could expand DeFi by letting complex tasks happen offchain while Ethereum verifies compliance before settlement.
