Ethereum Activates Pectra Upgrade, Enhancing Network Functionality

The Ethereum mainnet has successfully activated the Pectra upgrade, marking a significant technical milestone for the network. Scheduled to go live on May 7, 2025, the Pectra Upgrade combines proposals from the Prague and Electra upgrades, aiming to streamline user experience and developer operations. This upgrade integrates eight Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), with a notable change being EIP-7702, which introduces account abstraction. This feature allows regular crypto wallets to behave like smart contracts, potentially enabling users to pay gas fees using tokens other than ETH in the future.

The path to this upgrade has not been without challenges. Ethereum developers encountered finalization issues on the Holesky testnet due to bugs linked to incorrect deposit contract addresses, causing chain splits and instability. Additionally, a separate issue on the Sepolia testnet, triggered by custom deposit contracts, disrupted block processing. These setbacks led to the launch of a new testnet called Hoodi to finalize tests. Following successful test runs, Ethereum core developers confirmed the activation of the Pectra upgrade.

In preparation for the upgrade, major crypto exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase temporarily paused Ethereum (ETH) deposits and withdrawals. Binance stated that ETH and tokens on Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Scroll, Worldcoin, and zkSync would be affected. The exchange pause started at 09:45 (UTC), with trading continuing uninterrupted. However, users were unable to move funds in or out during the upgrade window to prevent potential issues from forks or network reorganization. Coinbase also suspended ETH transfers as a precaution during the upgrade process, with new staking requests held until after 3:45 A.M. PT, though existing staked assets remained untouched.

The Pectra upgrade represents a major milestone in Ethereum's proof-of-stake evolution, building on last year's Dencun upgrade and introducing new features to enhance the network's functionality and efficiency. The Ethereum community is electrified with anticipation for the transformative changes that the Pectra upgrade brings, as it is expected to improve nearly every part of the network.