Big changes coming to Ethereum’s super-sized Pectra update

This week, Ethereum's core developers decided to release the network's next major update, Pectra, in at least two installments, with the first update scheduled to ship in or around February 2025.

The last several Ethereum Improvements – incl Denkunwhich fell in March and Chapel—which went live in 2023—has brought meaningful change to both blockchain developers and everyday users of Ethereum.

So what does Pectra bring, and how might those changes affect you?

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Pectra: Part One

During a call on Thursday, Ethereum's core developers decided there were too many items on Pectra's wish list, which would make the upgrade overly complex if all were pushed at once. Instead, they chose to split the upgrade into at least two separate events, with the first part set for early next year.

A number of proposals have already been greenlit for inclusion in that first update, and many of them will have a significant impact on Ethereum users.

One, for example, would end the tedious process of needing to hold small amounts of ETH to pay gas fees on the Ethereum mainnet and many layer-2 networks. Currently, gas payments on Ethereum, basis, Decision, OptimismAnd many other networks in the Ethereum ecosystem must be paid in ETH, which token is being transferred.

The proposal contained in Part One of Pectra, EIP-7702, would effectively end this requirement by allowing consumers to pay gas bills in other, universal cryptocurrencies. The proposal, which introduces “account abstraction,” would allow users to display their Ethereum wallets as smart contracts—meaning third parties could sponsor transactions and pay gas bills for you.

As a result, Ethereum core developer Marius van der Wijden explained DecryptSoon you will be able to pay your gas bill. USDCFor example – making the need to hold ETH to complete basic operations on Ethereum a thing of the past.

“It's a great UX upgrade,” van der Wijden said.

Another update, EIP-7251, which appeared in Pectra's first episode, allows Ethereum stakeholders to receive rewards in the amount of more than 32 ETH. So far, validators have only been able to harvest 32 ETH (a little over $81,000 in writing) on ​​the network. Unless you deposit another full 32 ETH – from a separate confirmation.

So a user who currently holds 40 ETH, for example, cannot currently harvest or voice power from an additional 8 ETH.

“It was basically dead wood,” van der Wijden said. “But not now.”

After the first batch of Pectra ships early next year, stakeholders can earn a return equivalent to 32 ETH on deposits. This is made possible by a new function to merge validators – this means that if you are currently running different validators of 32 ETH each to maximize rewards and impact, you can now conveniently merge them all into one validator. More sound power and reward collection.

On a macro scale, the ability to integrate validators means that key stakeholders will love it. Lido And Rocket pool And CoinbaseCollecting funds from thousands of different users, it now significantly reduces the number of nodes needed to run on the Ethereum mainnet.

“This will significantly reduce the bandwidth requirements of the Ethereum network as a whole,” van der Wijden said.

Two additional proposals included in Pectra's first shipment, the EIP-6110 and EIP-7002, also enable the possibility of creating fully automated and permissionless ETH storage pools for the first time. Currently, services such as Rocket Pool still require their staff to handle certain aspects of depositing and withdrawing money.

Class two and above

While the aforementioned features are set to go live early next year, questions abound about the second Pectra update, including which EIPs it might contain, when it will go live, and whether other Ethereum updates will come before it.

At the moment, according to Ethereum van der Weijden, the rest of the Pectra segment may have to wait until 2026.

But expect big things when the second half of the update arrives. Two major ideas can already be included: the EVM Object Format (EOF) that increases efficiency and security for writing smart contract code, and a new feature called PeerDAS that can significantly reduce Layer-2 gas charges in the next two. up to three years.

In March, it introduced an update to the Ethereum blockchain SpottedThis is amazing decreased Layer-2 payments by Allowing layer-2 data to be permanently stored on-chain temporarily for up to a month. Currently, there are six blobs on each Ethereum transaction block—essentially, space reserved for making layer-2 transactions extremely cheap.

PeerDAS, at launch, will provide a foundation for Ethereum developers to significantly increase the size of blobs on each network block. Van der Wijden says that in post-PeerDAS, his team is confident they can fit 32 blobs on each Ethereum block — a more than 400% jump in efficiency.

Edited by Andrew Hayward.