Ethereum Developers Discuss Splitting Pectra Upgrade, Aiming to Complete Work in ETH Developers Discuss Splitting Pectra Upgrade, Aiming to Complete Work in February
Ethereum developers are weighing the possibility of splitting into two phases the highly anticipated upgrade called Pectra. Meant to further streamline network throughput and processing times, the splitting of the upgrade may allow developers to release the upgrade faster. If discussions held during the Ethereum Execution Layer call on Sept. 12 are anything to go by, the first phase could be expected by early 2025.
Developers Plan to Finish Upgrade in February
As one developer explained, “Feb feels realistic with a split Pectra,” suggesting the possibility of a two-phase release. Developer Danno Ferrin pushed back, noting an early Q1 delivery as important: “Splitting the fork only makes sense if we are talking Q1 delivery.”
Not all was rosy, though, as ETH researchers were also skeptical. As EF Researcher Ansgar Dietrichs puts it, “A split where we still only ship the first half in say June would be a failure,” he added, to consolidate that the process will have to move swiftly for it not to witness further delays.
The Pectra Upgrade: Prague and Electra
The main components of the Pectra upgrade include the Prague upgrade, which includes changes to ETH execution layer, and the Electra upgrade, which will affect the consensus layer. Being able to bifurcate the upgrade reduces risk because smaller upgrades are generally less risky than larger and more complex ones.
Per Christine Kim, a crypto researcher at Galaxy, the likelihood of a split is very high, considering how complex the Pectra upgrade is: “The scope of the upgrade could change drastically if developers opt to split it,” Kim noted.
Optimism for Pectra in the Industry
The industry is abuzz with anticipation. Sassal, an ETH educator, chimed in, telling his followers, “Pectra, the next Ethereum network upgrade, is shaping up to be the biggest in Ethereum’s history.”
Ethereum developers will likely make any final decision on Sept. 19 during the next Ethereum All Core Developers (ACD) call.
EIP-3074 and Wallet Functionality
In April 2024, Ethereum Improvement Proposal-3074 was approved to be included in the Pectra upgrade. This allows standard wallets, such as MetaMask, to act more like smart contracts and perform features like transaction bundling and sponsored transactions.
Indeed, the Pectra upgrade can change how Ethereum basically works; that is why this is one of the most highly anticipated upgrades in the history of the platform.
