Ethereum Rolls Out Pectra, Its ‘Most Ambitious Upgrade Yet’
Ethereum activated the Pectra upgrade on May 7, 2025, at 6:05 am ET, achieving finality shortly after. Pectra introduces significant changes aimed at scaling and improving network operations. Key features include optimized validator deposit processing, enhanced cryptographic operations, and improved historical data access. EIP-7702 simplifies crypto wallet usage, allowing regular accounts to function as smart contracts temporarily. EIP-7251 increases staking limits for validators from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, enhancing reward efficiency. EIP-7691 boosts blob throughput from 3 to 6 per block, reducing transaction costs for Layer 2 solutions. Despite these advancements, scalability challenges persist, with experts noting that decentralization is crucial for effective scaling. Future upgrades, like Fusaka, are anticipated to address ongoing scalability issues.
