Ethereum, the world’s leading smart contract platform, successfully implemented its much-anticipated Pectra upgrade today, marking a critical point in Ethereum’s network evolution.
The hard fork went live at epoch 364032, precisely at 10:05:11 UTC, as confirmed by the official Ethereum X account with the message: “Upgrade in progress. Activating Pectra @ epoch 364032 // 10:05:11 UTC”.
This upgrade merges two significant components—Prague and Electra—into a single update that brings sweeping improvements across Ethereum’s execution and consensus layers. Eleven Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) are bundled into this release, covering everything from account abstraction and validator performance to Layer 2 data scaling and cryptographic efficiency.
According to core developer Tim Beiko, Pectra is the most significant update since the Dencun upgrade earlier in 2024. It follows months of development challenges, delays, and rigorous testing on multiple testnets including Holesky, Sepolia, and finally Hoodi.
The breakthrough came during a core developer call on April 3, when Ethereum Foundation researcher Alex Stokes confirmed, “We’ll go ahead and lock in May 7 for Pectra on mainnet.”
Introduction to Ethereum Upgrade
The Ethereum Pectra upgrade is a significant milestone in the development of the Ethereum network, aiming to improve its scalability, usability, and overall efficiency.
As the 16th major Ethereum network upgrade, Pectra combines two coordinated updates: the Prague execution layer hard fork and the Electra consensus layer upgrade. This major upgrade is expected to drive Ethereum forward, introducing key features such as smart accounts and delegation, improved staking, and increased network efficiency.
With 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) included, Pectra is the most feature-packed upgrade to date, making it a crucial step in the continuous improvement of the Ethereum ecosystem.
What’s New? Key Technical Upgrades Under Pectra
At the heart of the Pectra upgrade are 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), each targeting crucial network enhancements. These proposals lay the groundwork for increased scalability, improved user experience, and stronger infrastructure.
Monitoring blocks and their proposal rates post-fork is crucial to ensure the stability and functionality of the network during critical upgrade phases. The new upgrade is expected to enhance technical performance, scalability, and user experience.
One of the standout upgrades is EIP-7702, which introduces account abstraction—a mechanism allowing user wallets to function temporarily like smart contracts. This brings in features such as transaction bundling, social recovery, permission control, and sponsored gas fees.
“EIP-7702 lays the foundation we’ve needed for a long time”, said core developer and co-founder of Prysmatic Labs, Preston Van Loon. According to him, this upgrade will enable DeFi apps to remove much of the user-side complexity. Enhancing censorship resistance is crucial for minimizing block production issues and ensuring fairness in transaction inclusion.
Another important change is EIP-7251, which raises the validator staking cap from 32 $ETH to 2,048 $ETH, increasing the maximum balance that validators can hold. This makes staking more efficient and reduces the number of validator nodes required to handle large deposits.
While smaller operators benefit from simpler management, some critics caution that increased limits could lead to centralisation. Completing the transition to a more energy-efficient Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism is a significant milestone for Ethereum.
Investors can now stake their $ETH to earn rewards, enhancing participation in the Ethereum network. Developers are already looking forward to the next upgrade, Fusaka, which aims to further enhance scalability. This enables investors to stake their $ETH and earn rewards, making staking more appealing.
Pectra also incorporates EIP-7691, which improves data storage capacity through increased blob throughput. The number of blobs per block rises from a target of 3 to 6, with a maximum increase from 6 to 9.
This significantly benefits Layer 2 solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum by lowering fees and boosting transaction speeds.
“Ethereum’s ability to propagate data efficiently and predictably will define how far it can scale”, said Muriel Médard, MIT professor and co-founder of Optimum. Changes in gas costs per byte for calldata and the introduction of blobs as a more efficient data storage option impact transaction fees and network performance.
Developers and validators ensure that operations are stable and that no clients are diverging onto unintended chains or forks. These advancements are crucial for maintaining lower transaction costs during periods of high demand.
Increasing the blob count per block enhances data availability and reduces Layer 2 transaction costs, allowing Layer 2 rollups to post data more efficiently. EIP-7691 and EIP-7623 are designed to optimize block propagation and processing, mitigating potential challenges during high network activity.
Other notable EIPs include:
- EIP-7002: Allows execution-layer-triggered validator exits, enabling trustless staking pools. Moving validator deposits to the execution layer streamlines the onboarding process for validators.
- EIP-6110: Reduces validator onboarding delays from hours to minutes.
- EIP-7623: Raises calldata fees to encourage the use of more efficient blob storage. Recent EIPs raise the gas cost for calldata while promoting the use of blobs as a cheaper storage alternative.
- EIP-7685: Standardises communications between execution and consensus layers, enhancing the functionality and efficiency of the blockchain chain. Developers vigilantly monitor for any potential issues that could arise during the volatility of forks, ensuring clients do not fork off onto other chains.
- EIP-7840: Adds blob scheduling to support future data scaling.
- EIP-7549: Optimises attestation messaging by reducing data size.
- EIP-2537: Improves performance of BLS signature verification.
- EIP-2935: Extends access to historical block hashes for smart contracts.
Combined, these updates target performance, security, and long-term adaptability across Ethereum’s multi-layer architecture.
Improving Data Availability
One of the primary focuses of the Pectra upgrade is to improve data availability on the Ethereum network. This is achieved through the increase of blob capacity, which enables the network to process more data efficiently.
The upgrade includes EIP-7691, which doubles the number of blobs that can be processed per block, allowing Ethereum to handle significantly more data and process it more efficiently. This improvement in data availability is expected to have a positive impact on the overall network efficiency and scalability, making it more suitable for a wide range of applications and use cases.
By optimizing data availability, the Pectra upgrade is taking a significant step towards establishing Ethereum as a leading platform for decentralized applications and services.
Enhancing Smart Contract Accounts
The Pectra upgrade introduces significant enhancements to smart contract accounts, enabling externally owned accounts (EOAs) to be temporarily converted into smart contract accounts.
This is made possible through EIP-7702, which allows for account abstraction and enables functions like transaction bundling and paying gas fees with alternative tokens.
The upgrade also includes improvements to smart accounts, making each wallet a programmable platform that serves the user’s needs.
By enhancing smart contract accounts, the Pectra upgrade is providing developers with more flexibility and opportunities to create innovative applications and services on the Ethereum network.
Network Efficiency and Performance
The Pectra upgrade is designed to improve network efficiency and performance, making it more user-friendly and efficient. The upgrade includes several EIPs that optimize the network’s execution layer and consensus layer, reducing gas fees and increasing the maximum effective balance for validators.
With the introduction of EIP-7251, validators can now control more stake without running multiple validators, reducing the number of validators needed and decreasing network load.
By improving network efficiency and performance, the Pectra upgrade is expected to have a positive impact on the overall user experience, making it more appealing to a broader range of users and applications.
From Delays to Deployment: The Road to Pectra’s Launch
The journey to today’s upgrade was far from smooth. Originally scheduled for March 2025, the Pectra upgrade faced setbacks due to unresolved issues on Ethereum’s test networks. Problems on Holesky included finality errors, and a bug on Sepolia further delayed rollout. It wasn’t until a successful run on the Hoodi testnet in March 2025 that confidence returned.
Speaking during a livestream leading up to the mainnet deployment, Pooja Ranjan, a long-time contributor, highlighted the upgrade’s significance: “Pectra is Ethereum’s 19th upgrade since 2015 and the third since the Merge.” The Merge, which transitioned Ethereum from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in 2022, set the stage for Ethereum’s modular scaling vision.
The Lead protocol engineer at Consensys, Lucas Saldanha, emphasized the importance of due diligence in ensuring the correctness of blockchain transactions amidst the inherent uncertainties of software development.
The successful launch of Pectra not only validates the improvements introduced with Dencun’s proto-danksharding release in 2024 but also serves as a precursor to the upcoming Fusaka upgrade.
Fusaka aims to integrate Verkle Treesand further refine PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling), which will help Ethereum manage exponentially higher transaction volumes without compromising decentralisation.
Understanding Hard Forks
A hard fork is a significant change to the Ethereum network’s protocol, requiring all node operators to update their software to remain in sync with the network. Hard forks can affect the execution layer, consensus layer, or both, and are used to introduce new features, improvements, and optimizations to the network.
The Pectra upgrade is a hard fork that combines two coordinated updates, making it a complex and significant change to the Ethereum network. By understanding hard forks and their role in the development of the Ethereum ecosystem, users and developers can better appreciate the importance of upgrades like Pectra and their impact on the network’s future.
As the Ethereum network continues to evolve, hard forks will play a crucial role in shaping its development and ensuring its position as a leading platform for decentralized applications and services.
Ethereum’s Path Forward: What Pectra Means for Users and Developers
Ethereum’s latest upgrade is far from just another protocol patch. Pectra realigns Ethereum’s infrastructure to support a broader ecosystem of decentralised applications, Layer 2 solutions, and validator incentives. The network’s dual mandate—enhancing user experience and future-proofing its infrastructure—is central to this update.
Continuous improvements are crucial for Ethereum to maintain its competitive edge in attracting resources and talent compared to other Layer 1 blockchain networks.
With account abstraction now a foundational element, DeFi and consumer-facing apps can provide smoother onboarding, reduce reliance on private keys, and offer more intuitive transaction flows. “Account abstraction will reshape user experiences by eliminating token approvals and creating a one-click trading experience”, said the head of product at OP Labs, Sam McIngvale.
He also noted that while Pectra brings modest gains in blob capacity, more is needed: “At current growth trajectories, even with Pectra’s modest blob increase, Layer 2s need a five-to-eight times increase in blob capacity for blobs to remain uncongested”.
Stakers also stand to gain from a more flexible and efficient system. EIP-7251 allows them to consolidate operations, reduce hardware costs, and turn idle $ETH into productive assets. Validator onboarding is now faster thanks to EIP-6110, while execution-triggered exits simplify withdrawals.
Security enhancements through cryptographic improvements (EIP-2537) and historical data access (EIP-2935) provide developers with new capabilities for building trustless applications.
Meanwhile, EIP-7623 and EIP-7840 collectively push the ecosystem towards more sustainable scaling practices by nudging developers to adopt blob storage and prepare for future upgrades.
At the time of writing, $ETH is trading around $1,840, up about 2% on the day. While price movements may reflect short-term excitement, the long-term implications of Pectra lie in the infrastructure it sets for Ethereum’s future.
The successful deployment of Pectra confirms Ethereum’s role as a continuously evolving blockchain platform. It may not resolve every challenge—particularly around decentralization and true mass scalability—but it brings Ethereum one step closer to supporting an open, efficient, and user-friendly Web3 ecosystem.
