"Ethereum's Pectra Upgrade: A Giant Leap Towards User-Friendly Crypto"

Ethereum's Pectra Upgrade Goes Live on Testnet

Ethereum's highly anticipated Pectra upgrade went live on the Holesky testnet on February 24, marking a significant step towards improving the network's functionality and user experience. The upgrade, which combines 11 major Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) into a single package, aims to enhance the usability of crypto wallets and simplify the staking process for validators.

At the heart of the Pectra upgrade is EIP-7702, a proposal by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin that enables wallets to possess some smart contract capabilities. This move is part of a broader strategy to bring account abstraction to Ethereum, making the user experience less cumbersome. Additionally, EIP-7251 will allow validators to increase their maximum stake from 32 to 2,048 ETH, simplifying the process of setting up new nodes.

The Holesky testnet is the first of two testnets to simulate the Pectra upgrade. The next test is scheduled for the Sepolia testnet on March 5. However, developers may delay the test depending on the scale of the issues encountered during the Holesky testnet. After successful tests on both testnets, developers will finalize a date for the mainnet activation of the upgrade.

In other news, Aya Miyaguchi, the Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, announced her departure from the organization to take on a new role as president. Miyaguchi's leadership has been criticized by some in the community, with some attributing the blockchain's token price lag behind other cryptocurrencies to her leadership. The Ethereum Foundation, a nonprofit supporting the development of the Ethereum blockchain, has been undergoing a leadership shake-up in recent months.

The Avalanche Foundation, in collaboration with Rain, a blockchain-based card issuing platform, launched the Avalanche Card, a Visa credit card that allows users to spend their cryptocurrency at any store that accepts Visa. The card supports Avalanche tokens (AVAX), wrapped AVAX, and stablecoins USDT and USDC. This development signals the further integration of traditional financial technologies with cryptocurrency.

Hackers have been exploiting GitHub to steal bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by planting malicious code in fake projects on the popular