#ETHCrossed2500
Ethereum recently underwent its Pectra upgrade, a significant hard fork that aims to enhance the network's scalability, security and usability. Here are the key updates:
*Pectra Upgrade Features:*
- *Increased Validator Cap*: The effective balance for validators has been raised from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, allowing large staking providers to consolidate nodes and reduce bandwidth costs.
- *Smart Wallet Functionality*: EIP-7702 introduces account abstraction, enabling users to temporarily execute smart contract code and enjoy features like transaction batching, gasless transactions and custom asset access.
- *Blob Throughput Increase*: The blob count has been increased from 3 to 6 targets, with a maximum of 9, resulting in cheaper fees for Ethereum rollups.
- *Increased Calldata Cost*: EIP-7623 increases calldata pricing for data-heavy transactions, incentivizing L2s to use blobs instead ¹ ².
*Impact on Ethereum:*
- *Improved Efficiency*: The upgrade is expected to enhance the overall efficiency of the network, making it more scalable and user-friendly.
- *Layer 2 Fee Revenues*: The shift to blob-based data availability may impact Layer 2 fee revenues, pushing them to adapt through innovation and user-focused design.
- *DeFi and NFTs*: The upgrade is expected to benefit DeFi and NFTs by providing smarter wallets, gas sponsorship and cheaper transactions ¹.
*Current Market Performance:*
- *ETH Price*: Ethereum is currently trading around $1,840, with a modest 3% increase in the last 24 hours.
- *Market Sentiment*: The upgrade has been well-received by the community, with many expecting it to drive further growth and adoption ¹.
