The Pectra upgrade that will bring key changes to Ethereum as a network will start its testing later this month. Proponents see upside for ETH price post-launch.
Ethereum developers have scheduled test dates for Pectra Upgrade, the most significant upgrade in over 10 months. According to reports, this upgrade will welcome notable improvements to wallets and validators, with a possible launch in April.Â
Conversely, this update comes days after co-founder Vitalik Buterin hinted in an X post that Pectra, expected in March, will increase the blob target from 3 to 6, effectively doubling the capacity of L2s.
Ethereum Pectra Upgrade: Testing Timeline
Interestingly, during their team call on Thursday, Ethereum’s core developers outlined a clear testing phase for Pectra. It will begin on February 26 with the Holesky testnet, followed by another round on the Sepolia testnet on March 5. If both tests go smoothly, developers will meet again on March 6 to finalize the official launch timeline.Â
In a statement on X, Tim Beiko, the Ethereum Foundation’s protocol support lead, indicated that the mainnet upgrade is expected to go live in early April if all goes as planned.
Pectra is going live 🥳
Holesky will fork at slot 3710976 (Mon, Feb 24 at 21:55:12 UTC)
Sepolia will fork at slot 7118848 (Wed, Mar 5 at 07:29:36 UTC)Assuming Sepolia goes smoothly, we’ll pick the mainnet slot on the March 6 ACD call 📅
— timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko) February 6, 2025
Pectra, a combination of the Prague and Electra upgrades, introduces eight significant improvements to the Ethereum network. For example, one of the most anticipated changes is EIP-7702, which aims to enhance the user experience for crypto wallets by implementing account abstraction.Â
This will allow users to pay transaction fees in tokens other than ETH and enable externally owned accounts (EOAs) to operate like smart contracts. This is designed to offer improved wallet functionality.
Another crucial upgrade, EIP-7251, will increase the staking limit for validators from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH.Â
This change is expected to allow large validators to consolidate their operations, reducing the need for multiple nodes. It will speed up the setup of new validators, addressing the lengthy wait times caused by network congestion.
Ethereum’s Position Amid Rising Competition
Ethereum has faced challenges recently, with its native token, ETH, underperforming compared to other cryptocurrencies.Â
In light of this, competing blockchains like Solana have gained momentum, attracting users and developers.
Despite these challenges, Ethereum developers remain optimistic about the future. With ongoing discussions about the network’s direction and leadership changes within the Ethereum Foundation, they believe Pectra will strengthen Ethereum’s position as the leading programmable blockchain.
Similarly, Bhutan recently revealed its plan to enhance its crypto strategy by holding Ethereum and other digital assets as part of its reserves. This move signals confidence in the network’s future despite the current challenges.
With pectra, there is an expectation that the ETH price will see a turnaround. At the moment, it is changing hands at $2,689, up 12.91% in the past year but down 2.68% in 24 hours.
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