Ethereum's Pectra Upgrade to Boost Efficiency, Staking

Ethereum developers are gearing up for the Pectra upgrade, scheduled for Wednesday, which is set to be the most significant code change to the blockchain since the Merge in 2022. This upgrade, named Pectra, is a combination of the words Prague and Electra, and it involves two simultaneous upgrades on Ethereum’s consensus and execution layers.

The primary goal of the Pectra upgrade is to enhance the user-friendliness and efficiency of the Ethereum blockchain. It includes 11 major code changes, known as "Ethereum improvement proposals" (EIPs), which aim to improve the staking experience, introduce new wallet features, and update the blockchain's functionality.

One of the key changes is EIP-7702, which grants wallets smart contract capabilities, aligning with the trend of "account abstraction." This change will enable wallets to offer user-friendly features, such as the ability to pay gas fees using currencies other than ether (ETH).

Another significant change is EIP-7251, which simplifies the staking process for validators. Post-Pectra, validators will be able to increase the maximum amount of ETH they can stake from 32 to 2,048, allowing those who stake across multiple validators to consolidate them under one node. This should reduce the time required to set up a new node and streamline the equipment setup process.

Some of the changes in Pectra have been in the works for several years, with the original plan to implement them in 2024. However, due to the complexity of the code changes, the upgrade was delayed until the first quarter of 2025. After the initial delay, developers conducted two tests on different testnets, both of which encountered bugs, necessitating a third test and further delaying the upgrade.

Ethereum Foundation devops engineer Parithosh Jayanthi emphasized the importance of updating nodes in preparation for the Pectra fork, stating, “The Pectra fork is coming to Ethereum mainnet soon! Please don't forget to update your nodes.”