Ethereum’s next major upgrade is already stirring debate across the crypto community, as developers and market participants weigh its implications for decentralization and MEV reform.
Reactions intensified after Vitalik Buterin outlined Ethereum’s evolving block-building roadmap, including the introduction of enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) in the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade.
Some users described the move as a reinforcement of Ethereum’s anti-centralization ethos, arguing that separating validators from block builders preserves staking neutrality while allowing open competition in execution optimization. Others framed it as a “classic separation of concerns,” noting that making MEV extraction permissionless could shift centralization pressure away from validators and into areas that are more transparent and easier to monitor.
ePBS and in-protocol safeguards
Under ePBS, block proposers will be able to outsource block construction to a permissionless market of builders. The design aims to prevent block-building dominance from bleeding into staking centralization.
However, Buterin acknowledged that builder concentration remains an open question. As a countermeasure, he pointed to FOCIL, a mechanism that allows 16 randomly selected attesters to force specific transactions into a block.
Finally, the block building pipeline.
In Glamsterdam, Ethereum is getting ePBS, which lets proposers outsource to a free permissionless market of block builders.
This ensures that block builder centralization does not creep into staking centralization, but it leaves the…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) March 2, 2026
A more expansive concept, informally called “Big FOCIL,” could further decentralize inclusion by distributing transaction selection more broadly, potentially limiting builders primarily to ordering MEV-sensitive trades and executing state transitions.
Addressing MEV and network vulnerabilities
Beyond structural reforms, Buterin highlighted efforts to curb “toxic MEV,” including sandwiching and frontrunning. Encrypted mempools are being explored to prevent transactions from being exploited before inclusion.
He also emphasized risks at the transaction network layer, where exposed data can be intercepted or manipulated. Proposed solutions include anonymized routing systems and Ethereum-specific network designs aimed at strengthening privacy and reducing pre-block exploitation.
The broader discussion underscores Ethereum’s ongoing effort to balance scalability, decentralization, and user protection as it refines its block-building pipeline.
Notably, Buterin cautioned that abandoning the Poseidon hash function in planned state tree upgrades could significantly reduce prover efficiency across the network. His remarks come as developers weigh options to replace Ethereum’s current state structure with a binary tree design.
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