The long-awaited Pectra upgrade of the Ethereum network has a set timeline for its integration. As discussed at the Ethereum developers meeting, the Holesky testnet will fork on February 24, 2025, while Sepolia will fork on March 5, 2025. Assuming these tests go smoothly, the Ethereum mainnet would be upgraded on April 8, 2025.
The Pectra integration timeline was discussed at the 205th All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) call, hosted by Tim Beiko, protocol support lead at the Ethereum Foundation (EF).
This meeting was crucial to define the dates and steps to follow for the implementation of Pectra. The update will be carried out approximately in April to the main network because, according to the media that recounted the developers meeting, Ethereum needs at least 30 days from the last update on its public test network to execute the complete implementation on the main network.
All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) number 205. Source: Ethereum Youtube Channel
These forks of the Ethereum testnets will allow the performance and compatibility of the upgrade to be evaluated before its deployment on the mainnet.
Disagreement over the next Ethereum update: Fusaka
During the same meeting, the possibility of freezing the scope of Fusaka, Ethereum’s next planned upgrade, until Pectra launches on the mainnet was discussed.
However, the Geth (Go Ethereum) development team, responsible for one of the most popular clients on the Ethereum network, opposed this proposal, arguing that it was premature to consolidate Fusaka’s scope at this point. In response, Beiko suggested a longer timeframe for deciding which Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) should be included in the next upgrade after Pectra. Instead of two weeks, he suggested a month.
What will Pectra bring to the Ethereum network?
Pectra is a significant upgrade that will bring several improvements to Ethereum. Key improvements include EIP-7702, which aims to improve the user experience of wallets, and EIP-7251, which raises the maximum amount validators can stake from 32 to 2,048 ETH.
At the meeting, it was also mentioned that the Pectra upgrade will include improvements in gas efficiency and the implementation of new developer tools, which will facilitate the creation of more robust and secure decentralized applications. Currently, Ethereum is the network with the highest locked value in the world.
Ethereum holds over 50% of the value locked in all cryptocurrency networks excluding Bitcoin. Source: DeFi Llama
Furthermore, Pectra will improve the network’s scalability and efficiency, allowing for increased storage capacity for layer-2 solutions and reducing fees. According to the developer team, these improvements are crucial to maintaining Ethereum’s relevance in the cryptocurrency space. This is especially true now that competition between networks is at an all-time high, and Solana and XRP, especially the former, are rapidly rising in community adoption.
The Ethereum community and its foundation have been in the spotlight recently due to several events. The Ethereum Foundation has been criticized for systematically selling ether to fund itself, which has led to discontent among community members. Additionally, there have been calls for a change in leadership within the foundation, with suggestions that Danny Ryan take on a more prominent role.
These events have created an atmosphere of expectation and anxiety in the community, which hopes that the Pectra update will bring significant improvements and stabilize the situation. But, above all, that it will improve the situation of the ether (ETH) price, which, according to Hashdex, is below its fair value.
Since then, the Ethereum Foundation has been pushing further into DeFi, as requested by the community, and the network’s native cryptocurrency, ether, has once again surpassed the threshold that makes it an inflationary currency. Currently, the Ultrasound Money site indicates that the ether supply is greater than the burn by 0.008% per year.
