Pectra, the Ethereum network upgrade, is now live
The developers of Ethereum have activated the Pectra network upgrade, which includes smart accounts, higher staking limits, and increased scalability thanks to important EIP keys.
Ethereum — the network that introduced smart contracts to the world — moves toward the next chapter with today's Pectra upgrade, but what does it mean?
Pectra was activated on the Ethereum mainnet at the start of epoch 364032, on May 7, 2025, at approximately 10:00 AM UTC. The three main Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) included are EIP-7702, EIP-7251, and EIP-7691.
EIP-7702 allows externally owned accounts to act as smart contracts and cover gas expenses (transaction fees) and payments in tokens other than Ether (ETH). EIP-7251 increases the staking limit for validators from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, making it easier and simpler for large stakers to operate.
Finally, EIP-7691 increases the number of data blobs per block, enabling better scalability in layer 2 solutions and potentially significantly reducing transaction fees. Sergej Kunz, co-founder of the decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch, said that Pectra "introduces the functionality of 'smart account'" to deeper levels of the protocol and "enhances Ethereum's scalability" through layer 2 solutions.