Vitalik Buterin Proposes FOCIL to Strengthen Ethereum Neutrality
Date: 2025-08-25 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: BUSINESS
Vitalik Buterin in his blog on August 22 emphasized the need to strengthen the decentralization of Ethereum. He noted that excessive dependence on a limited number of block builders can lead to censorship of transactions and weaken the neutrality of the network. In response to these threats, Buterin proposed three areas of development: improving the public mempool, implementing distributed block building systems, and creating alternative channels for transactions.
The key element of his ideas was the proposal of Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists (FOCIL). This scheme involves choosing 17 validators at once to form a block, where one gets the right to determine the order of transactions, and the rest are obliged to ensure the inclusion of their own operations. This approach reduces the risks of concentration of power in the hands of individual participants and makes the process fairer. At the same time, additional validators do not carry a serious computational load, which facilitates the participation of a wide range of operators.
Buterin proposed expanding the use of FOCIL to other tools, including smart contract wallets and privacy protocols, to reduce users' dependence on centralized intermediaries. According to him, the main goal of the initiative is to eliminate the possibility of an oligopoly among block builders.
However, the idea has caused a mixed reaction. Ethereum developer Amin Soleimani expressed doubts about the practical feasibility of FOCIL. He drew attention to the fact that in the case of controversial transactions related, for example, to Tornado Cash, American validators could previously refrain from processing and avoid legal consequences, leaving them to other network participants. But within the framework of FOCIL, such evasion will be impossible, which will potentially create a threat of prosecution for validators in the United States.
Soleimani also suggested that US regulators could use the new mechanism as a pressure tool, holding validators and attesters responsible for including transactions with authorized addresses. In his interpretation, this would give authorities additional grounds for asset confiscation and prosecution.
In addition to legal risks, he doubted the sustainability of the model in the long term. In his opinion, FOCIL requires a significant amount of altruism from participants, since the system does not yet provide incentives or protective mechanisms to compensate for the risks associated with this.
Thus, Buterin's initiative opens a new discussion within the Ethereum community. On the one hand, FOCIL promises to strengthen the neutrality of the network and reduce the threat of censorship. On the other hand, there is a question about the legal implications and viability of the proposed model.
