The Ethernet Pectra Upgrade is a major update expected to be rolled out in March 2025 to improve the network’s scalability, security, and availability. The upgrade, proposed in November 2023, is the third major upgrade since 2022, when Ethernet moved to the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
Since Ethernet’s successful move to Proof of Stake (PoS) in 2022, the network has continued to evolve, improving scalability, security and efficiency. The upcoming Pectra upgrade, to be rolled out in March 2025, will be another important milestone in this process. This upgrade, proposed in November 2023, follows the Dencun upgrade in March 2024 and is the third major network upgrade since The Merge.
Pectra combines the Prague and Electra upgrades and is designed to optimize network performance and user experience. Among the most anticipated features are account abstraction, smart contract improvements, and an enhanced pledging mechanism. For pledgers, Pectra will increase the pledge limit for verifiers from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH and provide more flexible withdrawal options, making the ethereum pledge model more efficient and easier to use.
This upgrade not only further improves Ethernet’s infrastructure, but also strengthens its position as the leading smart contract platform. As Pectra’s launch date approaches, its impact on transaction efficiency, network participation, and the development of the entire ecosystem is becoming a hot topic of discussion in the crypto community.
- What is the Ether Pectra upgrade?
Expected to go live in March 2025, the Pectra Upgrade is a key update to EtherNet that aims to improve the network’s scalability, security and overall efficiency. First proposed in November 2023, the upgrade is the third major optimization since Ether’s historic shift to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus in 2022.Pectra is expected to further enhance blockchain performance, improve the user experience, and solidify Ether’s position as the leading smart contract platform.
- The core features of the Pectra upgrade: Account Abstraction: Simplifies user interaction, supports more flexible transaction types, and improves the overall user experience. Smart Contract Optimizations: Reduce gas costs, increase transaction throughput, and make the network more efficient. Enhanced Staking Mechanisms: Improve pledge operations, encourage more users to participate, and strengthen network security.
- Future Plans for Ethernet:
The Pectra upgrade is part of the overall development roadmap for EtherNet and includes several important optimizations for the future:
Scalability Improvement: Sharding and Rollup technologies to increase transaction processing capacity and reduce network latency.
Enhanced Security: Continuous updates to protect against emerging threats and ensure network integrity and security.
Sustainability: Building on the PoS mechanism to further reduce energy consumption and optimize the environmental impact of the network.These upgrades are designed to make Ethernet a more robust and efficient platform to meet the changing needs of users around the world.
- When will the Ethernet Pectra upgrade take place?
The Ethernet Pectra upgrade is expected to be rolled out in mid-March 2025 and will occur in two phases.
The first phase will introduce a number of key optimizations, including an increase in Layer-2 blob capacity from 3 to 6 to reduce network congestion and lower transaction costs. In addition, Account Abstraction allows users to pay for Gas using stablecoins such as DAI and USDC, making transactions more flexible. Another important improvement is the increase in the pledge limit from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, significantly simplifying the validator process for institutions and large-scale pledgers.
Phase 2 is expected to launch in late 2025 or early 2026 and will focus on more advanced network optimizations. By then, technologies such as PeerDAS and Verkle Trees will be introduced to improve data storage efficiency and overall network performance, laying the foundation for further expansion of Ether.
5、EtherCenter’s Last Major Upgrade: Dencun
The last major upgrade of Ethernet, Dencun, went live on March 13, 2024, introducing the Proto-Danksharding mechanism. This technology dramatically reduces Layer-2 transaction costs by using temporary binary blobs instead of permanent on-chain storage. This innovation not only relieves network congestion, but also lays the foundation for Pectra and further optimization in the future.
- What EIPs are included in the Pectra upgrade?
The Pectra upgrade integrates several Ethernet Improvement Proposals (EIPs) designed to enhance wallet functionality, improve pledge efficiency, and further optimize network scalability.
Below are the key EIPs for Pectra:
EIP-7702: Allows External Accounts (EOAs) to temporarily act as smart contracts for the duration of a given transaction, simplifying the transaction process and serving as an alternative to the deprecated EIP-3074.
EIP-7251: Increases the pledge limit per validator from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH to reduce network congestion and improve pledge efficiency.
EIP-7002: Optimize the validator exit process to improve the smoothness of pledge providers.
EIP-7742: Enhances Layer-2 scalability, increases transaction throughput, doubles blob capacity, and further reduces costs.
EIP-2537: Introducing encryption optimization technology to improve network performance and security.
EIP-2935: Establish an on-chain historical block hash storage system to improve the accessibility of historical data.
EIP-6110: Simplify the process of authenticator deposits and improve the efficiency of authenticator access.Together, these upgrades will strengthen the Ethernet infrastructure, make it more scalable and user-friendly, and optimize the pledge mechanism to promote the sustainable development of the Ethernet ecosystem.
