ACDE #227: Call Minutes + Insights
Why executive decision-making is a curiosity on ACD calls
Good evening,
I’m back with my first Ethereum development update of 2026—though admittedly later in the night than I had anticipated.
Over the holiday, I started experimenting with a slightly different format for ACD After Hours. Tonight’s issue was my first real attempt at it. As I find my footing, you may receive a few more late-night sends in your inbox, but rest assured, I do plan to return to my usual publishing schedule in due time.
Before we dive into the call summary and insights from the most recent All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) call, I want to share some context on what I’ve been working on over the holiday and what you can expect in these newsletters over the coming weeks.
Saying goodbye to ACD call summaries 👋
First, the biggest change you should be aware of is that I plan to gradually transition out the section of this newsletter series that summarizes the All Core Developers (ACD) calls and bulk up the section that provides insights and opinionated takeaways from the calls.
When I first started covering the ACD calls in 2018, I was the only person doing so on a regular, dedicated basis. Now, there are several, and summarizing the key decisions from these calls has become much easier thanks to websites like Forkcast and AI tools like ChatGPT.
While none of these tools can yet match the accuracy or nuance of a human-written summary, I anticipate they will soon, which is why this year I plan to spend less time summarizing and more time channeling my inner “Matt Levine,” as one reader had suggested to me in their feedback on my 2025 content.
Attempting a longer “Call Insights” feature for tonight’s newsletter was the main reason for the later-than-usual sent time, and the reason why I have also taken out a few other non-essential newsletter sections to allow me more bandwidth to focus on delivering to you high-quality takeaways on the ACD calls that I’m confident you won’t be able to get anywhere else, AI-powered websites and otherwise.
Saying hello to sponsored content 🌊
Second, this year I’m putting more effort into securing sponsors for my content, especially for this newsletter, ACD After Hours. Thus, you may start to see a few curated advertisements in forthcoming posts and a greater frequency of public posts in this series, rather than paywalled.
I have a few other changes planned for my Substack in 2026, which I’ll share more about in the coming weeks. My intent with all of these updates is that they enhance the reader experience and value of this newsletter, so if something resonates—or doesn’t—with you, as a reader, please let me know. I’m all ears.
Relatedly, I’m still collecting feedback on last year’s content to help guide this year’s direction. So, if you haven’t shared your thoughts yet on your reader experience from last year, feel free to reply directly to this email, or for premium subscribers, send a message in the Telegram chat.
Now, without further ado, let’s dive into what Ethereum developers discussed on their first ACDE call of the year, ACDE #227.
Yours truly,
Christine D. Kim
🔔Programming note: Sponsorship opportunities in 2026 for the ACD After Hours newsletter are now available. If you have a business or product that you want to get featured in this newsletter, please reply directly to this email.
(For background on the ACD process and jargon used on these calls, refer to the Ethereum Governance 101 document in the ACD Toolkit.)
Announcements
Ethereum Cat Herders President Pooja Ranjan shared four updates related to the Ethereum governance process:
A proposal to rename the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) improvement meetings, also called EIPIP meetings, to All Core Developers Governance (ACDG) meetings to increase visibility and encourage broader participation among ecosystem stakeholders.
A proposal to add a field in EIP documents that states the name of the Ethereum upgrade in which the code changes were activated.
A proposal to move requests for input on EIPs from the Ethereum Cat Herders Github to the official Ethereum Github for greater visibility.
A proposal to correct minor grammatical errors and update wording for consistency in EIP-7723.
Ethereum Foundation (EF) Researcher Ansgar Dietrichs, who was also chairing the call, did not allow time for discussion on the above proposals so that developers could move on to discussing the next agenda items related to Glamsterdam scope.
Glamsterdam
Developers agreed to consider for inclusion (CFI) one new EIP for Glamsterdam:
Developers declined for inclusion (DFI) the following three EIPs:
Developers intend to reach a final decision on the remaining list of proposed EIPs for Glamsterdam on the next ACDE call.
Details on the decisions made about Glamsterdam EIPs on this week’s call, along with information on the remaining proposed EIPs, can be found in this Google spreadsheet.
🌕 That’s all for my summary of ACDE #227. Continue reading for pointed takeaways from the call, featuring direct quotes and additional context on key topics. To read the rest of the newsletter, make sure you are signed up for a premium subscription:
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(Quotes featured in this section may be edited for grammar and clarity. For more information on the people quoted in this section, refer to the ACD Call Directory in the ACD Toolkit.)
Executive decision-making: Why they’re a curiosity on ACD calls
A curious thing happened on ACDE #227. A team leader made an executive decision that ran counter to a team member’s suggestion.
