ACDC #188 · Quick Slots 10s Hegotá CFI

AllCoreDevs - Consensus #188 · 2026-10-01

The proposal to cut the block interval from 12 seconds to 10 seconds became an official review item

Quick slots (EIP-8198), which cut the slot time from 12 seconds to 10, moved to Considered for Inclusion (CFI) for Hegotá. There was opposition that the post-quantum transition should come first, but the condition attached was that it will be re-verified with additional data before Scheduled for Inclusion (SFI) and can be dropped if necessary.

Why it matters

A 10-second block interval would speed up transaction confirmation and improve price updates on L2s and apps, as well as the perceived speed of deposits and withdrawals. However, CFI is a review stage, not a release commitment, so it can be dropped depending on test results, and the October 6 Sepolia Glamsterdam fork is the immediate gate.

Decisions

EIP-8365 Deposit Guard: EIP-8365, reduced to only the deposit guard, was moved to Considered for Inclusion in Hegotá. The forced exit part is split into a separate EIP to be handled in a future fork.
EIP-8198 Quick Slots: Quick Slots, which makes slot time adjustable, was moved to Considered for Inclusion in Hegotá. The actual reduction from 12 seconds to 10 seconds must go through additional verification before it is Scheduled for Inclusion.
EIP-8379 Top Up Sync: Top Up Sync was removed from the Hegotá candidates. Teams that want it can continue Engine API experiments outside the fork schedule.
EIP-8333 Withdrawn: The Lodestar team withdrew EIP-8333, which aligns checkpoints with epoch boundary blocks. After reviewing decoupled consensus, they concluded it is not worth addressing now.
EIP-8363 Withdrawn: The champions (the people responsible for pushing a proposal forward) withdrew EIP-8363, the tapered issuance burn EIP. They decided to follow a broader community-driven process instead of core developer call scoping.

Discussion

Quick Slots (EIP-8198), block interval from 12 to 10 seconds

The biggest issue in this scoping was whether to include in Hegotá a first step toward cutting slot time, the block production interval, from 12 to 10 seconds. The conflict in priority with the post-quantum transition was the axis of the debate.

Outcome: CFI decision 01:02:49

Top Up Sync (EIP-8379), can the CL lead EL sync

An Engine API proposal that lets the CL query the EL's sync status and lead sync. The issue became how far to define the division of roles between CL and EL.

Outcome: DFI decision 01:26:38

Optional Execution Proofs (EIP-8025), should a fork carry an unfinished feature

A proposal to put zkVM execution proofs into the spec as an optional feature without mandating them. Because time ran out, the conclusion moved to the next call.

Glossary

CFI: Considered for Inclusion, the stage where inclusion in a fork is under review and implementation and verification work proceeds. It is not a release commitment
SFI: Scheduled for Inclusion, the stage where inclusion in the fork is confirmed
PFI: Proposed for Inclusion, the stage where inclusion in a fork has been proposed and accepted as a candidate
DFI: Declined for Inclusion, the state where the EIP has been excluded from the candidates for this fork
PQ: Post-quantum, the transition to cryptography that is safe against quantum computer attacks
Decoupled consensus: Decoupled consensus, a next consensus layer redesign that reshapes the slot structure and validator roles. It is cited as a prerequisite for the post-quantum transition
Engine API: Engine API, the standard interface through which consensus layer (CL) and execution layer (EL) clients communicate
Shadow fork: Shadow fork, a rehearsal test that replicates real network state to run an upgrade in advance

EIPs covered

Forkcast record · Recording · ← Core Dev Calls