According to PANews, the Bollinger Bands indicator for the ETH/BTC exchange rate has narrowed to its tightest level since June 2020, suggesting potential market volatility. This technical signal emerges just before Ethereum's Pectra upgrade, scheduled for May 7, which aims to enhance network scalability and validator efficiency. The upgrade will increase the maximum staking limit for individual validators from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH and expand the number of 'blob' data units per block from 3 to a maximum of 9. Additionally, Pectra will introduce the EVM Object Format (EOF) to optimize smart contract structures.
Analytics firm Nansen highlights that the Pectra upgrade will significantly benefit Layer 2 networks by expanding blob capacity, reinforcing Ethereum's role as a data availability layer, and strengthening its Rollup-centric scaling strategy. Sectors such as DeFi, NFTs, and blockchain gaming are also expected to gain advantages from this upgrade.