Author: Jason Nelson
Translation: Baihua Blockchain
The Ethereum Pectra upgrade is scheduled for release in March 2025, merging the previously planned Prague and Electra upgrades to achieve better integration and enhance scalability, efficiency, and usability. The following is the main text:
What is the Ethereum Pectra Upgrade?
The Ethereum Pectra upgrade enhances the network's scalability, efficiency, and staking flexibility. Pectra expands the storage capacity of Layer-2 solutions while reducing fees.
One of the most user-friendly improvements of Pectra is flexible Gas payments. In Ethereum, "Gas" refers to the transaction fees used to compensate validators for maintaining network security. Through account abstraction, Pectra allows users to pay these fees using ERC-20 Tokens (such as USDC), rather than being limited to ETH. Account abstraction simplifies Ethereum transactions by making wallet functions more like smart contracts, providing users with greater control over transaction execution.
The Pectra upgrade also introduces Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS), which enhances Ethereum's scalability by allowing nodes to verify data without fully storing transaction data, making the network more efficient.
Another improvement is Verkle Trees, a new data structure that combines Vector Commitments and Merkle Trees, providing a more efficient data storage upgrade for Ethereum. Verkle Trees optimize information storage and verification, significantly reducing the amount of data validators need to keep while allowing for quick and secure access to network information.
When Will the Ethereum Pectra Upgrade Occur?
The Ethereum Pectra upgrade is expected to take place in mid-March 2025 and will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will introduce key improvements, such as increasing the Blob capacity of Layer-2 from 3 to 6 to reduce congestion and fees, while enabling account abstraction to allow the use of stablecoins like DAI and USDC for Gas payments.
The second phase is expected to be implemented by the end of 2025 or early 2026, achieving advanced optimizations, including PeerDAS and Verkle Trees, to improve data storage and network efficiency.
The last major Ethereum upgrade, Dencun, took place on March 13, 2024. It introduced Proto-Danksharding, which reduced transaction costs on Layer-2 blockchains by using temporary data called "Blobs." These Blobs do not rely on permanent on-chain storage, reducing network congestion, enhancing scalability, and laying the groundwork for upgrades like Pectra.
How Does the Pectra Upgrade Work?
Key features of Pectra include:
Account Abstraction: This feature supports the use of various Tokens (such as USDC, DAI) to pay Gas fees and allows third-party fee sponsorship.
Smart Contract Optimization (EIP-7692): Enhances the efficiency of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Validator Upgrades: EIP-7002: Enables flexible staking withdrawals.
EIP-7251: Increases the validator staking limit from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH.
Data Storage Enhancements: Verkle Trees: Reduces storage requirements and improves transaction processing.
PeerDAS: Enhances Layer-2 scalability and reduces network congestion.
The Pectra upgrade introduces several Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) to enhance wallet usability, staking, and scalability.
EIP-7702: Temporarily allows externally owned accounts (EOAs) to operate as smart contracts, simplifying transactions and replacing the now-abandoned EIP-3074.
EIP-7251: Raises the maximum staking amount per validator from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH to reduce network congestion.
EIP-7002: Improves the validator exit process, increasing efficiency for staking service providers.
EIP-7742: Enhances Layer-2 scalability by doubling transaction throughput, increasing Blob capacity, and reducing fees.
EIP-2537: Introduces cryptographic efficiency improvements.
EIP-2935: Provides a mechanism for on-chain storage of historical block hashes.
EIP-6110: Simplifies the validator deposit process.
How Will the Pectra Upgrade Affect Users?
The Pectra upgrade is expected to benefit Ethereum users in various ways, including transaction batching, new recovery options, and new wallet types.
Once the Pectra upgrade is live, Ethereum users may see lower or even zero Gas fees, as third-party services and decentralized applications (dApps) will have the option to sponsor transaction fees, potentially eliminating them entirely in some cases.
Pectra also introduces new wallet features to enhance Ethereum's usability and accessibility, including:
Transaction Batching: Allows multiple transactions to be bundled into one, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
Social Recovery: Provides a safety net for lost private keys, helping to restore wallet access through trusted contacts.
Native Multi-Signature Wallets: Enhances security by requiring multiple approvals to execute transactions, protecting funds from unauthorized access.
Potential Challenges of the Pectra Upgrade
Ethereum developers expect the Pectra upgrade to launch smoothly, but there are still key risks. According to a report released in June 2024 by Obol and Liquid Collective, client diversity is an issue, as bugs in mainstream clients could compromise network stability. Centralization of operators may also increase the risk of penalties due to staking being concentrated in a few entities. Dependence on cloud services like AWS and Hetzner also poses risks of downtime and security vulnerabilities, affecting validator uptime and network resilience.
Another challenge is that changes in wallet verification due to the Pectra upgrade may expose outdated protocols that have not been updated in a timely manner to vulnerabilities. At the same time, raising staking limits may encourage centralization, concentrating power in larger participants and attracting regulatory scrutiny. The slow adoption of distributed validator technology (which can mitigate single points of failure and reduce the risk of centralized control) may weaken network resilience.
Initial Issues with the Testnet
These challenges became apparent in February 2025 when the Pectra upgrade was activated on Ethereum's Holesky testnet but failed to achieve finality (i.e., the state where transactions are confirmed and permanently recorded on the blockchain). While this was a setback, the purpose of the testnet "is to find issues," said Georgios Konstantopoulos, general partner and CTO of crypto investment firm Paradigm.
Ethereum developers chose to delay the Pectra release to test the upgrade on a "shadow fork" of the Holesky testnet, a temporary copy that allows testing to continue while waiting for the Holesky testnet to achieve finality—eventually achieved on March 10, more than two weeks later than the initial activation.
This is not the first time an Ethereum upgrade has failed to achieve finality on a testnet; the Dencun upgrade also encountered similar issues when it launched on the Goerli testnet in March 2024.
Preparations for the next phase will kick off with a testnet specifically designed for the Pectra upgrade, codenamed Hoodi, starting on March 17. If all goes well, developers expect Pectra to go live on the mainnet on April 25.
The Future of Ethereum After Pectra
The Pectra upgrade is an important step in Ethereum's roadmap, aligning with its long-term vision for scalability, security, and decentralization. As part of Ethereum's transition to a more efficient network, Pectra lays the groundwork for future updates.
In January 2025, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin responded to concerns about ETH prices and the impact of Layer-2 scaling solutions on the network's economy. Buterin emphasized that Layer-2 networks need to support the value of ETH by burning part of the fees or staking them for community benefit.
"We should think clearly about the economics of ETH," Buterin wrote. "We need to ensure that ETH continues to appreciate even in a Layer-2 dominant world, ideally addressing various models of value accumulation."
Buterin also called for the standardization of cross-chain functionality, enhanced interoperability, and prioritization of security to prevent censorship on Layer-2 chains. He likened the importance of this moment to a "wartime mode," emphasizing his determination to confront these challenges and drive the development of Ethereum.
Conclusion
The Pectra upgrade is another significant update for Ethereum since the "Merge" in 2022, planned for release in March 2025. It significantly enhances network performance and user experience through technologies like account abstraction and Verkle Trees, while introducing flexible Gas payments and higher staking limits. However, the upgrade also faces challenges such as client diversity and centralization risks. This article will deeply analyze the technical highlights and potential issues of the Pectra upgrade, taking you through a key step in Ethereum's future development.
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