The developers of Ethereum confirmed the key test dates for the long -awaited Pectra upgrade, bringing the blockchain closer to its first major update in almost a year.
If the tests planned for tests of Testsy and Sepolia take place as planned, the developers predict that the upgrade will be posted on the Mainnet in early April.
During their last call for developers of all the main ones, the basic manufacturers of Ethereum planned the first Pectra test for February 26 on the Holesky Testnet, followed by a second trial on the Sepolia Testnet on March 5.
If these tests take place smoothly, the developers will meet on March 6 to finalize a date of activation of the Mainnet. Tim Beiko, lead of support for the protocol at the Ethereum Foundation, said that in early April is the most likely target.
Planned changes
Pectra, a hybrid of Prague and Electra upgrades, introduces eight proposals for improving Ethereum (EIP) aimed at improving the functionality of the portfolio and the efficiency of the validator.
One of the most expected changes, EIP-7702, is designed to simplify the user experience by allowing the accounts held externally, which include most cryptographic portfolios, to operate more as smart contracts.
Improvement is part of a wider thrust towards the abstraction of accounts, a blockchain trend that seeks to make portfolios more flexible by allowing users to pay transaction costs with assets other than ETH.
Another significant update, EIP-7251, increases the implementation limit of the validator from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH. This change should facilitate the congestion of the network by allowing large validators to consolidate operations and reduce long queues currently necessary to configure new nodes.
Difficult landscape
Pectra upgrade intervenes at an increased moment of control for Ethereum in the middle of his underperformance against bitcoin and competing intelligent contract networks. Rivals like Solana have gained momentum in recent months, attracting attention and talent far from the Ethereum ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation is also undergoing a major leadership transition, adding additional uncertainty over the long -term management of the project. The Foundation has also been criticized in recent months for the sale of Ethereum, in particular in the middle of market slowdowns.
With Pectra, the developers hope to reaffirm the domination of Ethereum as the main blockchain of the intelligent contract. If everything goes as planned, the upgrade could strengthen the technical advantage of Ethereum and improve the adoption of users, by addressing some of the largest pain points in the network.
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