Originally set to go live by the end of 2024, the Ethereum Pectra upgrade is now targeting early 2025 and it will feature an improvement in account abstraction using EIP-7702 proposed by Vitalik amongst others.
The Ethereum Network has been going through several evolutionary steps since it launched in 2015. Known for its robust ecosystem and rich community, Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with its native currency, Ether (ETH) recently being approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission for spot ETF.
The Ethereum Network is known for introducing the concept of smart contracts, an innovation that made the network an operating-system-like platform enabling developers to build various types of (decentralized) applications.
Launched with the Proof of Work (POW) consensus mechanism, Ethereum migrated to the Proof of Stake (POS) consensus mechanism in an event known as the Merge.
Dencun & Pectra
In March 2024, the network underwent its latest upgrade – the Dencun upgrade which introduced a series of Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) with the EIP-4844 taking center stage. The Dencun upgrade is a feature of two – Cancun on the execution layer and Deneb on the consensus layer.
The EIP-4844 also known as proto-danksharding improves the blockchain’s ability to handle data from layer two networks. The Dencun upgrade introduced a new transaction category that stores data through the use of “blobs” – designed to improve the blockchain’s scalability and reduce gas fees for L2s.
The Pectra upgrade which is expected to raise validators’ stake cap from 32 to 2,048 ETH is expected to go live by Q1, 2025. This adjustment will afford validators greater flexibility and opportunities allowing them to hold larger stakes in the network. Like the Dencun upgrade, the Pectra upgrade also consists of an Execution Layer upgrade – Prague, and Electra, a Consensus Layer upgrade.
The change addresses the operational issues of large node operators who owing to the 32ETH cap are required to hold a very large number of validators. With this change, Validators could consolidate their operations, operating fewer but higher stake nodes.
Upgrade & timeline
Previously set to go live by the end of 2024, the Pectra upgrade has been pushed further to 2025 due to the inclusion of EVM Object Format (EOF) which includes 11 EIPs that introduce an opt-in container EVM code.
The Pectra upgrade will also feature PeerDAS, a data availability sampling solution that uses existing P2P components within Ethereum.
Also featured is a replacement of EIP-3074 (account abstraction) with a newer proposal – EIP 7702 introduced by Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin. The new proposal will enable externally owned accounts (EOAs) to function as smart contract wallets during a transaction.
Set for the first quarter of 2025, Ethereum Pectra will significantly transform the Ethereum network.
