On September 18, the non-profit organization Ethereum Institutional endorsed the EIP-8198 Quick Slots proposal promoted by Ethlabs. The proposal suggests transitioning from a fixed slot duration to a customizable parameter.
Make Ethereum faster.
We support @ethlabs_org’s push for faster @ethereum blocks.
As more institutional activity moves onchain, improvements like Quick Slots make Ethereum an even more compelling foundation for financial markets. https://t.co/GTBQNuIrBE
— Ethereum Institutional (@ethereuminsti) September 18, 2026
“Ethereum has a chance to become faster, and now is the time to make it happen,” noted Ethlabs.
EIP-8198 proposes initially removing the fixed 12-second slot duration from client software and making it a configurable parameter. Developers could then gradually reduce it in future updates.
The current version of the EIP uses eight seconds as a benchmark, but the exact value should be determined after performance testing. Ethlabs suggests starting with a more conservative 10 seconds.
According to the organization, reducing the slot time will speed up transaction confirmations and on-chain market price updates, as well as reduce delays for payments and applications. The change affects more than just one parameter. Currently, the assumption of a 12-second slot is used in consensus clients and other Ethereum infrastructure components.
EIP-8198 requires developers to replace such fixed values with a system that can accommodate varying slot durations after updates. Gas limits and BLOB object parameters are proposed to be adjusted proportionally to maintain the same throughput per unit time.
Reducing slot times also decreases the time for block propagation and verification and attestation collection. The EIP authors specifically noted the potential increase in computational resource and bandwidth requirements for validators.
(Non)Priority EIP
On August 6, Ethlabs officially proposed considering EIP-8198 for Hegota at an Ethereum core developers meeting.
We want to make Ethereum faster. https://t.co/veYfeRW8Bg
— Ethlabs (@ethlabs_org) August 6, 2026
On September 7, the Protocol Cluster of the Ethereum Foundation assigned Quick Slots a B-level priority in the list of proposals for Hegota. Such EIPs may be considered for inclusion after stabilizing S and A-level proposals, if time permits before finalizing the update composition.
Ethereum Foundation (EF) engineers outlined four conditions for elevating Quick Slots’ priority:
- a complete protocol change specification;
- a working prototype;
- a detailed assessment of ecosystem impacts;
- confirmation of compatibility with the future decoupled consensus architecture.
EF noted differing evaluations: research teams strongly supported Quick Slots, while implementation engineers pointed out the cascade of changes triggered by reducing slot duration.
The Ethlabs team announced the start of prototyping, ecosystem dependency assessment, and further specification refinement.
Earlier, in February, Ethereum developers introduced a protocol development roadmap. The document outlines approximately seven planned hard forks through 2029.
In September, EF identified priority proposals for Hegota, including FOCIL and Frame Transactions as mandatory.
