Ethereum Core Developers Set to Launch Pectra Upgrade in Q1 2025
The Ethereum core development team has announced that the highly anticipated Pectra upgrade will be released by the end of the first quarter of 2025. This decision comes after the successful deployment of the Dencun upgrade in March 2024. The developers have carefully evaluated different timeline scenarios and have chosen to delay the launch until after the Devcon developer summit in November 2024, which will take place in Bangkok. This strategic approach allows for a more measured development process and the inclusion of additional features that will greatly enhance the user experience.
The experience gained from the Dencun upgrade deployment on the Goerli testnet has highlighted the importance of timing and its impact on adoption. The developers faced challenges in achieving consensus within the expected timeframe, but were ultimately able to resolve them. However, they emphasized the need for thorough preparation for the next upgrade.
The Pectra upgrade will focus on improving both the consensus and execution layers of Ethereum. One major enhancement will be the integration of PeerDAS, which aims to enhance Ethereum’s Data Availability capacity ahead of the Osaka upgrade.
The Osaka upgrade, which is a future hard fork, will include features that were initially intended for the Pectra upgrade but were postponed to allow for a more refined implementation. One notable feature of the Osaka upgrade is the implementation of Verkle Trees, a new data structure designed to improve Ethereum’s scalability and decentralization.
During the Execution Layer Meeting, the team discussed the importance of supporting longstanding authorization use cases in Ethereum’s account management system. They explored mechanisms to keep authorizations alive during transactions and considered using Max L and non-optional authorizations. They also discussed the use of 7702 and the approach of wallets signing only one message for standardized proxies. Additionally, they are considering including EOF (Ethereum Object Format) to enhance smart contract security and developer experience.
The developers also discussed the inclusion and removal of Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) in the next development net. They decided to include EIP 7702 and test it while removing EIP 3074. They also discussed the implementation status of various EIPs, including RIP-1185, and the potential adjustment of the scope of the next hard fork.
In other news, the total value locked (TVL) in Ethereum Layer 2 networks has reached a new all-time high of $47.45 billion, according to L2BEAT. Arbitrum One leads the pack with a TVL of $19.3 billion, followed by OP Mainnet at $7.88 billion and Base at $6.94 billion. Several other notable blockchains, including Blast, Mantle, Linea, and Starknet, have also surpassed $1 billion in TVL. The overall TVL of all Ethereum Layer 2s has increased by 17.39% in the past week.
This recent bullish trend can be attributed to the approval of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 23. Eight issuers, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, and VanEck, have had their ETF applications approved by the SEC. These issuers are currently in the process of submitting S-1 forms, and the ETF launches are expected within a few weeks.
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