Stakers Union Backs EIP-7805 (FOCIL) for Glamsterdam
Stakers Union has formally voted to support EIP-7805: Fork-choice enforced Inclusion Lists (FOCIL) for inclusion in the next Ethereum network upgrade, Glamsterdam. We believe FOCIL measurably improves censorship resistance, reduces builder centralization risk, and strengthens solo-validator sovereignty without adding undue operational burden to home stakers.
What EIP-7805 Proposes (in plain terms)
Understanding the mechanics of Fork-choice enforced Inclusion Lists
EIP-7805 introduces "inclusion lists" produced by a small, rotating committee of validators every slot. These lists contain transactions seen in the public mempool that must be included by block builders / proposers for the block to be considered valid, enforced at the fork-choice level. In practice, this means if a builder tries to censor valid transactions, the protocol gives honest validators a way to enforce inclusion so those transactions land on-chain in a timely manner.
Rotating IL Committee
A subset of validators is randomly selected each slot to publish inclusion lists based on their mempool view. Proposers and attesters observe, store, and help propagate these lists.
Fork-choice Enforcement
If a payload omits transactions that could have fit (and were on the inclusion list), the fork-choice rule can favor the chain where they are included—providing teeth against censorship.
Design Goals
Address bribery/extortion edge cases, reduce equivocation risks around ILs, and remain compatible with account abstraction and transaction invalidation realities.
Why This Matters Now
Block production has consolidated among a few sophisticated builders. Community analyses and developer threads have highlighted that concentration as a live censorship-resistance risk. FOCIL counterbalances builder power by empowering the validator set—including solo validators—to guarantee transaction inclusion at the protocol level.
Relationship to Glamsterdam
Glamsterdam (Meta-EIP-7773) is the next major upgrade after Fusaka. Scheduled Ethereum network upgrades consist of a collection of EIPs, decided upon by the community through social consensus. FOCIL (EIP-7805) has been discussed as a Glamsterdam candidate and is now being considered for inclusion.
Note
The Stakers Union Perspective
1. Solo-staker Sovereignty
Home validators are the backbone of credible neutrality. FOCIL restores meaningful leverage to validators (not just builders) in the inclusion pipeline. That aligns with our mission to keep Ethereum open to small operators and resilient to policy or profit-driven filtering.
2. Protocol-level Guarantees
Rather than relying on voluntary norms, FOCIL makes inclusion enforceable in fork-choice. This reduces the burden on end-users to "self-defend" against censorship, and reduces reliance on centralized relays or builder altruism.
3. Glamsterdam Compatibility
Glamsterdam discussions include enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS) and related resilience work. FOCIL complements this overarching theme by giving validators a censorship-resilient backstop even as block production architecture evolves.
What Changes for Solo Stakers?
Client Updates
As with any fork, expect execution/consensus client upgrades. We will share links to support resources/communities once client teams finalize releases. (Meta-EIP-7773 remains the canonical scope reference.)
Operational Flow
No special hardware changes are anticipated for home validators from FOCIL itself. Inclusion list participation/verification logic is handled in client software as part of the protocol.
Network Effects
By distributing inclusion power across many validators, the marginal impact of any single censoring builder shrinks. That improves transaction liveness for all users, including your own transactions/withdrawals.
Addressing Common Questions
Our Commitment
- Advocate for censorship-resistant, validator-empowering protocol changes.
- Provide plain-English upgrade guidance for solo stakers when client releases are tagged.
- Continue to participate in governance and public education on inclusion, neutrality, and decentralization.