In the crypto world, Ethereum has become synonymous with a world computer, but since it’s decentralized, it doesn’t have a CEO or central authority to approve or confirm an upgrade. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t upgrade. Over time, we’ve seen changes in the network, like fees that are faster, smart contracts, and even the switch from mining to staking. So, how did these changes happen, and who lets Ethereum evolve?
An EIP often springs to mind first. It stands for Ethereum Improvement Proposal, and it’s essentially a comprehensive proposal designed to bolster, secure, or enhance the network. Imagine it as a public suggestion box, but with technical schematics, community discussions, and actual code that could potentially be executed on every Ethereum node globally.
While an EIP is an official document, its creation isn’t restricted to the protocol’s architects. Anyone with a solid grasp of the protocol’s workings can draft one. The proposal could be a technical fix or a change to the way the Ethereum network works altogether. The proposal must clearly outline the problem, suggest a solution, and explain how the network will work. If the EIP is approved, a hard fork could happen. This means the entire blockchain would undergo a coordinated, large-scale update.
These steps make sure that the network stays up to date and grows through input from the community instead of being controlled by a single entity.
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How Do EIPs Work?
An EIP serves two purposes: Firstly, it provides the exact code-level instructions for the change, making the technical specification clear from the start. Second, it acts as a “source of truth,” where everyone in the ecosystem is made aware of what the new standards are.
Where did they come from?
The EIP process didn’t appear out of thin air. The tale begins in 2015, the same year Ethereum made its debut.
A small group of early developers—including Vitalik Buterin, Martin Becze, and Hudson Jameson—realized the network needed a clear way to handle changes. They borrowed the idea from Bitcoin’s Improvement Proposals (BIPs) and created the first EIP repository on GitHub in October 2015.
Becze and Jameson wrote EIP-1. It established the fundamental guidelines for formatting a proposal, its content, and the community’s review process. In the early days EIPs focussed on fixing bugs and providing a set standard for things like tokens. But over the years the process grew more structured. Today, Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) number in the hundreds. Some are minor adjustments, while others represent significant shifts, fundamentally altering how millions interact with Ethereum.
Different Types of EIPs
Proposals aren’t all created equal; they’re grouped into categories. This helps folks understand the potential impact:
Core EIPs: These deal with the protocol’s core, things like changing how blocks are produced or tweaking how fees work. They’re often the ones that necessitate a hard fork.
Networking EIPs: address how nodes communicate with each other.Interface EIPs: These are used to update tools developers use, like APIs.
ERC EIPs: Ethereum Requests for Comments (ERC) are the ones most everyday users notice. They set standards for tokens, NFTs, and smart contracts. The notable ones among these include ERC-20 for fungible tokens or ERC-721 for NFTs.
Meta and Informational EIPs: They cover processes or share knowledge without changing code.A step-by-step guide to filing an EIP
The process looks intimidating at first, but it’s designed to be open and iterative. Here’s how it usually goes:
Vet your idea first. Before writing anything formal, hop on the Ethereum Magicians forum (ethereum-magicians.org) or the EthResearch board. Float your concept. Is someone already working on something similar?Just simply team up and save a lot of unnecessary double work.
Draft it properly. Fork the official EIPs GitHub repo, grab the template, and fill it out. You need sections like: Title, Abstract (one-paragraph summary), Motivation (why this matters). Then you need to give specification (exact technical details), the rationale (why your way is best), and finally the security considerations put in place. Use clear language—remember, not every reader is a PhD in cryptography.
Submit a Pull Request.Once your draft looks solid, open a PR on GitHub. An EIP editor (volunteer maintainers) checks it for formatting, clarity, and basic sense. If it passes, it gets merged as “Draft” status.
Gather feedback. Mark it “Review” and start shouting about it—forum posts, All Core Devs calls, Discord, Twitter/X threads.The author (you) is responsible for building rough consensus. You’ll answer questions, tweak the spec, and document disagreements.
Last Call and Final. After enough eyes have reviewed it and changes slow down, it moves to “Last Call” for at least two weeks. If no major objections, it can become “Final.” That means it’s ready for inclusion in a future upgrade.
The whole thing can take months or even years. Core devs discuss promising EIPs on regular calls, and client teams (like Geth, Nethermind) start coding test versions. However, not every EIP makes the cut. If a proposal is poorly thought out, lacks community support, or has a security flaw, it may never get taken up. Other criteria for rejection include if the author stops working on it for over 6 months. If they themselves take back the proposal, realizing that it’s unfit.Or more importantly, when the community or core developers reach a “rough consensus” that the change would be harmful to the network.
EIPs That Made Waves
Let’s examine some EIPs that fundamentally reshaped things.
EIP-20, the ERC-20 Token Standard from 2015, is the foundation upon which today’s token economy was built. Before ERC-20, each new project was, in a sense, starting from scratch, creating its own unique set of rules for how tokens could be moved around. EIP-20 introduced a straightforward, standardized interface, complete with functions such as balanceOf, transfer, and approve. The ability to create a token, one that effortlessly worked with existing wallets and exchanges, was suddenly available to all. It brough about the ICO frenzy of 2017, which in turn gave rise to DeFi. Without it, USDT, UNI, and countless other tokens wouldn’t be here today.
The NFT revolution began with EIP-721 (Non-Fungible Token Standard, 2018. ERC-721 defined unique, indivisible tokens—perfect for digital art, collectibles, and gaming items. CryptoKitties proved the concept; OpenSea and every marketplace since built on it. It turned “owning” a JPEG into a real, on-chain thing.
EIP-1559 (Fee Market Change, London Hard Fork 2021) – Before this, gas fees were a chaotic first-price auction—users overpaid during spikes. EIP-1559 brought a new base fee mechanism, which is burned, effectively taking it out of circulation, along with an optional tip. This change helped stabilize transaction costs and, over time, Ethereum’s supply started to shrink, though the effect was subtle. It sparked debate—miners were unhappy about the lost income—but it was approved and is now widely viewed as a significant victory for users and the narrative of ETH’s scarcity.
Then came EIP-3675, the Merge, in 2022, a major shift. Ethereum transitioned from its previous, energy-intensive mining process to a system that relies on staking with ETH. Energy consumption plummeted by 99.95%, security got a boost, and validators are now compensated for staking their ETH. The Merge proved Ethereum could pull off the most complex upgrade in crypto history without a hitch.
Important EIPs to Keep an Eye on in 2026
As we move into 2026, the goal has changed to making Ethereum so fast and cheap that users don’t even know they’re using a blockchain.
The “Blob” Update, or EIP-4844, was technically released earlier, but its full potential won’t be realized until 2026. It makes using “Layer 2” networks (like Arbitrum or Base) much cheaper, so transactions are almost free.
EIP-8141 (Account Abstraction): This is the “Holy Grail” for how users feel about things. It makes your wallet work like a normal bank app. You can use stablecoins instead of ETH to pay for fees and get social recovery (no more seed phrases!
EIP-7864, or Binary State Trees, is a technical leap forward. It enables mobile wallets to sync with remarkable speed, a boon for Ethereum’s performance on less powerful devices.
In short, EIPs are the lifeblood of Ethereum. If you’re a developer, investor, or just a curious user, knowing about EIPs will give you a front-row seat to how this huge global computer keeps getting better. Next time an Ethereum upgrade is announced, try looking up the associated EIPs. You’ll see that it’s real people, grappling with complex issues, who are actually driving the network’s slow but steady progress.
