{
  "id": 7688,
  "title": "EIP-7688: Forward compatible consensus data structures",
  "status": "Review",
  "type": "Standards Track",
  "category": "Core",
  "summary": "This EIP stabilizes Merkle tree indices for all consensus data, preventing coincidental verifier breakage when fields are added, removed, or list capacities change during Ethereum upgrades.",
  "impacts": [
    "No direct impact",
    "Less maintenance for EIP-4788 based projects.",
    "No direct impact.",
    "Less maintenance for consensus light client components.",
    "Less maintenance for light client based bridges.",
    "Fewer required upgrades of staking pool delegate contracts.",
    "Greater flexibility for future consensus design changes.",
    "No direct impact.",
    "EIP-4788 projects no longer need upgrades or security council involvement for forks outside their data scope.",
    "CL developers can modify fields, list capacities, or cost functions without affecting verifiers.",
    "Bundling with ePBS avoids a second re-indexing in the future."
  ],
  "discussion_url": "https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/eip-7688-forward-compatible-consensus-data-structures/19673",
  "source_markdown_url": "https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/blob/master/EIPS/eip-7688.md",
  "canonical_url": "/latest/eips/7688.json",
  "markdown_url": "/latest/eips/7688.md",
  "citations": [
    {
      "recordId": "eip-7688",
      "artifactPath": "normalized/7688.json",
      "url": "/records/proposal/eip-7688/normalized/7688.json",
      "label": "EIP-7688: Forward compatible consensus data structures",
      "snippet": "This EIP stabilizes Merkle tree indices for all consensus data, preventing coincidental verifier breakage when fields are added, removed, or list capacities change during Ethereum upgrades."
    }
  ]
}