In November 2024, a heated discussion erupted within the Ethereum ecosystem regarding the implementation of the EIP-7805 proposal, also known as FOCIL. The main goal of this initiative is to ensure the preservation of neutrality in the layer one (L1) network and to prevent the concentration of power among individual builders. At the same time, the proposal imposes legal obligations on validators to include even sanctioned transactions in blocks, which has sparked a number of controversies within the community.
This is reported by Business • Media
Reasons for the Controversy Surrounding FOCIL
User Amin Suleymani drew attention to the discussion of EIP-7805, emphasizing that the idea of FOCIL originated from Vitalik Buterin himself. As of August 2025, this proposal remains in draft status and has not yet received official approval.
FOCIL proposes to add 16 validators for each slot, granting one of them the right to determine the order of transactions. However, all proposed transactions must be included in the block. According to Suleymani, this approach increases legal risks for validators, especially those under the jurisdiction of countries with strict regulations, such as the USA. He emphasizes that censorship protection mechanisms have previously worked effectively, and the refusal of most operators to process sanctioned transactions only led to delays in their processing, but not to a complete blockage.
“This approach allowed node operators in the U.S., who could potentially face legal risks for interacting with sanctioned addresses and facilitating their transactions (up to 20 years in prison for violating sanctions), to simply filter them out and continue participating in the Ethereum network. […] But FOCIL forces the inclusion of such transactions, and validators can no longer exclude them,” Suleymani emphasized.
He also noted that the integration of FOCIL is likely aimed at distributing legal responsibility among validators and attestators. However, in his opinion, this does not reduce the risks but only complicates the legal position of network participants.
Vitalik Buterin’s Position on Ethereum’s Neutrality
Vitalik Buterin stresses the importance of maintaining L1 neutrality as a “dumb pipe” — a system that ensures data transmission without control over its content. According to him, a number of protective measures, including FOCIL, need to be implemented for this purpose.
Buterin highlights several key aspects for protecting the network’s neutrality:
- ensuring the stability and viability of the public mempool for block creation in a straightforward manner;
- developing off-protocol technologies for distributed block formation;
- creating multiple channels for including transactions in blocks.
He emphasizes that the implementation of FOCIL is beneficial for both validators and attestators, as it simplifies their work from a technical standpoint. With the emergence of EIP-7701, similar approaches may extend to a broader range of transactions, facilitating the elimination of centralized intermediaries in the network.
“I believe that the neutrality/’dumb pipe’ property of L1 is important enough that we should have several lines of defense to protect it:”
At the same time, in response to Buterin’s arguments, Suleymani noted that Ethereum has never been an entirely “passive channel,” and such ideals do not always reflect the actual state of affairs in the network.
It is worth recalling that Vitalik Buterin has repeatedly discussed the issue of Ethereum’s decentralization, previously noting that simplifying and reducing the cost of deploying nodes could be key to overcoming this problem.