The Daily Gwei - An Ethereum Podcast FOCIL in Hegota, Core Dev priorities and more - The Daily Gwei Refuel #859 - Ethereum Updates
Feb 23, 2026
Coverage of Fossil (EIP-7805) being included in Hegota and how it fights transaction censorship. A look at EF protocol priorities for 2026 including scaling, UX, and hardening. Discussion of Vitalik’s four major upcoming changes like state tree and VM work. Updates on Fast Finality efforts and Base’s new unified stack and roadmap.
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Fossil Prevents Long Delays From Network Censorship
- Fossil reduces delayed inclusion risk: even if 90% of the network censors a tx, the mechanism dramatically increases chances of inclusion within a few blocks.
- This matters beyond privacy apps because DeFi and arbitrage need low-latency inclusion.
Ethereum Foundation Prioritises Hardening L1 In 2026
- The EF's 2026 protocol priorities remain scaling and UX but add a big emphasis on hardening the L1 across many tracks.
- Hardening includes network security testing, post-quantum readiness, geographic decentralization analysis, and privacy work.
2026 Delivers 2025's Scaling Preparations
- Vitalik emphasises 2026 will deliver payoffs from 2025 prep: BALS, EPBS, and gas-free pricings are arriving to enable higher safe gas limits.
- These pieces together make it safe to increase block capacity and support L2 scaling work like blobs and PIRDAs.