diff --git a/consensus/state_processing/src/genesis.rs b/consensus/state_processing/src/genesis.rs
index fb2c9bfa7..32160a481 100644
--- a/consensus/state_processing/src/genesis.rs
+++ b/consensus/state_processing/src/genesis.rs
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ pub fn initialize_beacon_state_from_eth1<T: EthSpec>(
         state.fork_mut().previous_version = spec.bellatrix_fork_version;
 
         // Override latest execution payload header.
-        // See https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/v1.1.0/specs/merge/beacon-chain.md#testing
+        // See https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/v1.1.0/specs/bellatrix/beacon-chain.md#testing
         *state.latest_execution_payload_header_mut()? =
             execution_payload_header.unwrap_or_default();
     }
diff --git a/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing.rs b/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing.rs
index e409372dd..417e963ed 100644
--- a/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing.rs
+++ b/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing.rs
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ pub enum VerifyBlockRoot {
 /// re-calculating the root when it is already known. Note `block_root` should be equal to the
 /// tree hash root of the block, NOT the signing root of the block. This function takes
 /// care of mixing in the domain.
-pub fn per_block_processing<T: EthSpec, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+pub fn per_block_processing<T: EthSpec, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     state: &mut BeaconState<T>,
     signed_block: &SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     block_root: Option<Hash256>,
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ pub fn process_block_header<T: EthSpec>(
 /// Verifies the signature of a block.
 ///
 /// Spec v0.12.1
-pub fn verify_block_signature<T: EthSpec, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+pub fn verify_block_signature<T: EthSpec, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     state: &BeaconState<T>,
     block: &SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     block_root: Option<Hash256>,
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ pub fn verify_block_signature<T: EthSpec, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
 
 /// Verifies the `randao_reveal` against the block's proposer pubkey and updates
 /// `state.latest_randao_mixes`.
-pub fn process_randao<T: EthSpec, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+pub fn process_randao<T: EthSpec, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     state: &mut BeaconState<T>,
     block: BeaconBlockRef<'_, T, Payload>,
     verify_signatures: VerifySignatures,
@@ -376,30 +376,31 @@ pub fn process_execution_payload<T: EthSpec, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
 /// the merge has happened or if we're on the transition block. Thus we don't want to propagate
 /// errors from the `BeaconState` being an earlier variant than `BeaconStateMerge` as we'd have to
 /// repeaetedly write code to treat these errors as false.
-/// https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/dev/specs/merge/beacon-chain.md#is_merge_transition_complete
+/// https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/dev/specs/bellatrix/beacon-chain.md#is_merge_transition_complete
 pub fn is_merge_transition_complete<T: EthSpec>(state: &BeaconState<T>) -> bool {
     state
         .latest_execution_payload_header()
         .map(|header| *header != <ExecutionPayloadHeader<T>>::default())
         .unwrap_or(false)
 }
-/// https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/dev/specs/merge/beacon-chain.md#is_merge_transition_block
-pub fn is_merge_transition_block<T: EthSpec, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+/// https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/dev/specs/bellatrix/beacon-chain.md#is_merge_transition_block
+pub fn is_merge_transition_block<T: EthSpec, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     state: &BeaconState<T>,
     body: BeaconBlockBodyRef<T, Payload>,
 ) -> bool {
     body.execution_payload()
-        .map(|payload| !is_merge_transition_complete(state) && *payload != Payload::default())
+        .map(|payload| !is_merge_transition_complete(state) && !payload.is_default())
         .unwrap_or(false)
 }
-/// https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/dev/specs/merge/beacon-chain.md#is_execution_enabled
-pub fn is_execution_enabled<T: EthSpec, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+/// https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/dev/specs/bellatrix/beacon-chain.md#is_execution_enabled
+pub fn is_execution_enabled<T: EthSpec, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     state: &BeaconState<T>,
     body: BeaconBlockBodyRef<T, Payload>,
 ) -> bool {
     is_merge_transition_block(state, body) || is_merge_transition_complete(state)
 }
-/// https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/dev/specs/merge/beacon-chain.md#compute_timestamp_at_slot
+
+/// https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/dev/specs/bellatrix/beacon-chain.md#compute_timestamp_at_slot
 pub fn compute_timestamp_at_slot<T: EthSpec>(
     state: &BeaconState<T>,
     spec: &ChainSpec,
diff --git a/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/block_signature_verifier.rs b/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/block_signature_verifier.rs
index 78205ca92..cbfb5eeaf 100644
--- a/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/block_signature_verifier.rs
+++ b/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/block_signature_verifier.rs
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ use bls::{verify_signature_sets, PublicKey, PublicKeyBytes, SignatureSet};
 use rayon::prelude::*;
 use std::borrow::Cow;
 use types::{
-    BeaconState, BeaconStateError, ChainSpec, EthSpec, ExecPayload, Hash256, IndexedAttestation,
-    SignedBeaconBlock,
+    AbstractExecPayload, BeaconState, BeaconStateError, ChainSpec, EthSpec, Hash256,
+    IndexedAttestation, SignedBeaconBlock,
 };
 
 pub type Result<T> = std::result::Result<T, Error>;
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ where
     /// contains invalid signatures on deposits._
     ///
     /// See `Self::verify` for more detail.
-    pub fn verify_entire_block<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn verify_entire_block<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         state: &'a BeaconState<T>,
         get_pubkey: F,
         decompressor: D,
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Includes all signatures on the block (except the deposit signatures) for verification.
-    pub fn include_all_signatures<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn include_all_signatures<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         &mut self,
         block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
         block_root: Option<Hash256>,
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ where
 
     /// Includes all signatures on the block (except the deposit signatures and the proposal
     /// signature) for verification.
-    pub fn include_all_signatures_except_proposal<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn include_all_signatures_except_proposal<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         &mut self,
         block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     ) -> Result<()> {
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Includes the block signature for `self.block` for verification.
-    pub fn include_block_proposal<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn include_block_proposal<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         &mut self,
         block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
         block_root: Option<Hash256>,
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Includes the randao signature for `self.block` for verification.
-    pub fn include_randao_reveal<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn include_randao_reveal<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         &mut self,
         block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     ) -> Result<()> {
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Includes all signatures in `self.block.body.proposer_slashings` for verification.
-    pub fn include_proposer_slashings<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn include_proposer_slashings<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         &mut self,
         block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     ) -> Result<()> {
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Includes all signatures in `self.block.body.attester_slashings` for verification.
-    pub fn include_attester_slashings<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn include_attester_slashings<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         &mut self,
         block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     ) -> Result<()> {
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Includes all signatures in `self.block.body.attestations` for verification.
-    pub fn include_attestations<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn include_attestations<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         &mut self,
         block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     ) -> Result<Vec<IndexedAttestation<T>>> {
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Includes all signatures in `self.block.body.voluntary_exits` for verification.
-    pub fn include_exits<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn include_exits<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         &mut self,
         block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     ) -> Result<()> {
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Include the signature of the block's sync aggregate (if it exists) for verification.
-    pub fn include_sync_aggregate<Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+    pub fn include_sync_aggregate<Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
         &mut self,
         block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     ) -> Result<()> {
diff --git a/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/process_operations.rs b/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/process_operations.rs
index 13c4b9123..b1f857b57 100644
--- a/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/process_operations.rs
+++ b/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/process_operations.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use crate::VerifySignatures;
 use safe_arith::SafeArith;
 use types::consts::altair::{PARTICIPATION_FLAG_WEIGHTS, PROPOSER_WEIGHT, WEIGHT_DENOMINATOR};
 
-pub fn process_operations<'a, T: EthSpec, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+pub fn process_operations<'a, T: EthSpec, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     state: &mut BeaconState<T>,
     block_body: BeaconBlockBodyRef<'a, T, Payload>,
     proposer_index: u64,
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ pub fn process_attester_slashings<T: EthSpec>(
 }
 /// Wrapper function to handle calling the correct version of `process_attestations` based on
 /// the fork.
-pub fn process_attestations<'a, T: EthSpec, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+pub fn process_attestations<'a, T: EthSpec, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     state: &mut BeaconState<T>,
     block_body: BeaconBlockBodyRef<'a, T, Payload>,
     proposer_index: u64,
diff --git a/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/signature_sets.rs b/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/signature_sets.rs
index 5ce1bfddd..82a33acd7 100644
--- a/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/signature_sets.rs
+++ b/consensus/state_processing/src/per_block_processing/signature_sets.rs
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ use ssz::DecodeError;
 use std::borrow::Cow;
 use tree_hash::TreeHash;
 use types::{
-    AggregateSignature, AttesterSlashing, BeaconBlockRef, BeaconState, BeaconStateError, ChainSpec,
-    DepositData, Domain, Epoch, EthSpec, ExecPayload, Fork, Hash256, InconsistentFork,
-    IndexedAttestation, ProposerSlashing, PublicKey, PublicKeyBytes, Signature,
+    AbstractExecPayload, AggregateSignature, AttesterSlashing, BeaconBlockRef, BeaconState,
+    BeaconStateError, ChainSpec, DepositData, Domain, Epoch, EthSpec, ExecPayload, Fork, Hash256,
+    InconsistentFork, IndexedAttestation, ProposerSlashing, PublicKey, PublicKeyBytes, Signature,
     SignedAggregateAndProof, SignedBeaconBlock, SignedBeaconBlockHeader,
     SignedContributionAndProof, SignedRoot, SignedVoluntaryExit, SigningData, Slot, SyncAggregate,
     SyncAggregatorSelectionData, Unsigned,
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ where
 }
 
 /// A signature set that is valid if a block was signed by the expected block producer.
-pub fn block_proposal_signature_set<'a, T, F, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+pub fn block_proposal_signature_set<'a, T, F, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     state: &'a BeaconState<T>,
     get_pubkey: F,
     signed_block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ where
 /// Unlike `block_proposal_signature_set` this does **not** check that the proposer index is
 /// correct according to the shuffling. It should only be used if no suitable `BeaconState` is
 /// available.
-pub fn block_proposal_signature_set_from_parts<'a, T, F, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+pub fn block_proposal_signature_set_from_parts<'a, T, F, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     signed_block: &'a SignedBeaconBlock<T, Payload>,
     block_root: Option<Hash256>,
     proposer_index: u64,
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ where
 }
 
 /// A signature set that is valid if the block proposers randao reveal signature is correct.
-pub fn randao_signature_set<'a, T, F, Payload: ExecPayload<T>>(
+pub fn randao_signature_set<'a, T, F, Payload: AbstractExecPayload<T>>(
     state: &'a BeaconState<T>,
     get_pubkey: F,
     block: BeaconBlockRef<'a, T, Payload>,