Vitalik: Over 90% of activity can take a more static execution path
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently proposed another major direction for reshaping the Ethereum transaction architecture. On September 6, he posted on X saying that, in terms of transaction volume, more than 90% of Ethereum activity does not actually need the current level of complete, dynamic execution and state access capability. In the future, contracts, accounts, and transactions could proactively declare which parts can be handled by static analysis, thereby reducing costs and improving scalability.
This discussion revolves around EIP-8141 “Frame Transactions.” Vitalik believes that a transaction can be broken down into a series of “Calls,” then further categorized into which are “Actions” that actually cause state changes, and which are merely “Dependencies” that verify whether the transaction is valid—for example, signatures, UTXO Merkle proofs, and proofs such as SNARKs or STARKs.
Among them, Dependencies whose state accesses can be known in advance can undergo static analysis when the transaction enters the Mempool; for Pure Dependencies that do not access any state at all, there is a chance to complete a validation step already in the Mempool phase, and then compress the subsequent processing requirements using proofs such as STARK.
Transactions are split into Calls, and static paths are expected to achieve lower Gas
Following the direction described by Vitalik, Ethereum’s transaction format could be further simplified in the future: keep a series of Calls as the core, and then distinguish different characteristics such as Static and Pure using markers, together with necessary fields like Origin and Nonce.
The purpose of this design is to split work that can be “analyzed in advance” from work that can only determine results “during execution.” Full dynamic execution gives the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) high flexibility, but it also increases the difficulty of parallel processing, state management, and large-scale scaling.
Therefore, Vitalik argues that in the future, different transaction costs can be designed based on the level of dynamism. Transactions that are easier to statically analyze and easier to verify can obtain lower Gas; transactions that require extensive dynamic state access and execution will maintain higher costs. This also allows Ethereum to gradually move toward a hybrid architecture, while preserving the flexibility of the Account Model and maintaining some of the predictability closer to Bitcoin’s UTXO model.
EIP-8141 as the new core for Account Abstraction
EIP-8141 currently goes by the name “Frame Transaction.” It was first proposed in January 2026. One of its goals is to establish a new transaction format for native Account Abstraction. EIP-7701, which previously drove Native Account Abstraction, was later replaced by EIP-8141.
In the existing draft, Frames can be divided into different types according to their use:
The VERIFY Frame is responsible for identity verification and payment authorization,
The SENDER Frame performs user actions,
The DEFAULT Frame can handle deployment or subsequent logic.
The current draft sets a maximum of 64 Frames per transaction, with a base cost of 12,000 Gas, though the related parameters may still be adjusted continuously.
Vitalik also believes that EIP-8141 has the chance to become a common transaction interface for different future scaling technologies. When a transaction’s actions, dependency relationships, and verification methods can all be clearly separated, then introducing new State Types, UTXO-style state, Recursive STARK, or Mempool compression in the future can all be built on the same transaction framework.
The Hegotá upgrade is expected to arrive in 2027, and its design is still not finalized.
EIP-8141 was advanced from Considered for Inclusion (CFI) to Scheduled for Inclusion (SFI) at an Ethereum core developers meeting on August 27. It is currently expected to be included in the 2027 Hegotá upgrade. Hegotá will follow the Glamsterdam upgrade, which is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.
However, SFI does not mean the specification has been finalized. The number of Frames, Gas costs, opcodes, and the coordination of designs related to Layer 2 are still under discussion. EIP-8141 itself also remains in Draft status.
This transaction model restructuring also echoes the Lean Ethereum path that Vitalik proposed recently. Lean Ethereum plans to gradually reorganize the verification, state, and execution architecture over the next 3 to 4 years, including introducing Recursive STARK, quantum-safe cryptography, and limiting more clearly defined, lower-cost new State types.
Vitalik’s direction is to preserve Ethereum’s full dynamic execution capability, while moving most everyday transactions toward more static and easier-to-verify paths—thereby reducing Gas, improving parallel processing efficiency, and leaving more room for future expansion and proof systems.
『V神 proposes restructuring Ethereum transactions: over 90% of on-chain activity in the future won’t need dynamic execution—transaction fees could drop significantly』This article was first published on 『Crypto City』