Meeting Time: Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 14:00 UTC (90 minutes)
This was an Ethereum Core Developers meeting (ACDE 237) held on May 21st focusing on protocol updates and EIP proposals. Barnabas provided DevNet updates, reporting that Gem 3.1 DevNet 4 was experiencing bugs and would likely launch Tableau 4 with only two eligible clients (Nethermind and eTrax) ready for deployment. Toni presented an update to BAL spec 7702 regarding delegate inclusion on failed calls, clarifying that delegation addresses would only be added to the BAL after passing gas and balance checks. Maria provided an update on EIP 7904 regarding compute repricing, reporting that early results showed all clients with current optimizations were already performing at the desired targets, making the repricing likely unnecessary and potentially leading to the removal of the EIP. Han presented EIP 8188 proposing state tiering by right leash for Hekota, introducing a new “period” concept to separate inactive (80%) from active state (20%) with different gas costs for writes. Tom proposed EIP 8182 for private transfers to Ethereum using a system contract approach, while Peter suggested deactivating the self-destruct feature entirely. The conversation ended with Mercy requesting client feedback on execution API cases, particularly regarding security concerns and which metrics should be specified.
The meeting began with participants exchanging greetings and checking in. nixo asked David if he was streaming today, but David experienced technical difficulties with the setup and suggested recording the meeting through Zoom instead. The group agreed to proceed with the regular Zoom recording, which would be uploaded later.
Barnabas reported on DevNet 4 progress, mentioning some bugs being addressed with a planned launch of Tableau 4, though only two execution layers (Nethermind and eTrax) and three consensus layers (Prism, Loster, and Lighthouse) were ready. Toni presented updates on BAL spec 7702 regarding delegate inclusion on failed calls, clarifying that the delegation address is only added to the BAL after passing gas, value balance, and stack depth checks. The team discussed whether to include this change in the next devnet, with Dragan and others expressing concerns about potential client implementation issues, leading to a consensus that the change likely wouldn’t be included in GLAM DevNet 5.
The team discussed a proposed implementation where Felipe explained there was no strong necessity for it and Toni suggested moving the discussion to the Block Access List Discord channel if no agreement was reached. Regarding EIP 7904 on compute repricing, Maria reported that current block level access list optimizations have already met the performance targets, making the proposed repricing unnecessary. The team agreed to verify with all clients, particularly Geth, before finalizing the status of the EIP.
The team discussed the status of EIP 7904, which is likely not moving forward, and agreed to pause related work until the final decision is made at the end of the month. Han presented EIP 8188 proposing state heating by right leash for Hakota, which aims to address inactive state issues by introducing a new “period” concept and metadata for accounts and storage slots. The EIP would enable storage separation between inactive and active state with different gas costs, potentially leading to data reduction and performance improvements for EL clients. The team discussed implementation details, metadata bloat concerns, and alternative approaches, with Han emphasizing the simplicity and benefits of early implementation.
The team discussed a proposal for metadata-based pricing that currently only affects writes, with debate about whether reads should also update metadata. Peter raised concerns about changing the account structure in Ethereum, which has never been modified in the 10 years of its existence, though others noted this would only add an optional field rather than fundamentally change the tree structure. The discussion explored trade-offs between different approaches, including tracking most recent reads and potential storage optimizations, with agreement that further investigation is needed before implementing any changes.
Tom presented EIP-8182, which aims to bring private ETH and ERC-20 transfers to Ethereum by introducing a system contract for privacy functionality. The proposal uses a single global pool verifier with Groth16 cryptography, though this requires a trusted setup and will need to be upgraded to post-quantum cryptography in the future. Several participants expressed concerns about enshrining specific cryptography too early and preferred a more modular approach that would allow different privacy solutions to emerge first, with Emma and others suggesting the proposal tries to do too much at once.Peter then discussed EIP-4758 to deactivate the self-destruct opcode, explaining that self-destruct has been deprecated for years and causes technical complications. Guillaume and Peter identified that while some users still rely on self-destruct functionality, particularly for NFT projects, the majority of usage involves creating and immediately self-destructing contracts, which would not be affected by the change. The group agreed to PFI (Propose For Inclusion) the EIP to begin the deprecation process and provide notice to affected users.Mercy requested feedback from client teams on execution API specifications, particularly regarding security concerns and which metrics should be included in the specification. The conversation ended with logistics updates, including the confirmation that the upcoming ACDT meeting is tentatively canceled due to public holidays.
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