Ethereum: Key Technology and Updates
Ethereum $ETH , the second largest blockchain in the world, continues its evolution in 2025 with a series of technological updates designed to improve its scalability, security, and efficiency. The most recent of these, Pectra, activated on May 7, 2025, marks a significant milestone in Ethereum's roadmap, combining improvements in the execution layer and consensus to optimize the experience for users, validators, and developers.
1. The Pectra Update: A Comprehensive Approach
Pectra is the result of merging two previous updates: Praga (focused on the execution layer) and Electra (centered on consensus). This integration introduces 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) that address key challenges:
- EIP-7702: Allows standard accounts (EOA) to temporarily act as smart contracts, facilitating complex transactions without migrating funds. However, it has raised concerns about potential vulnerabilities in malicious signatures.
- EIP-7251: Increases the stake limit per validator from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, reducing congestion on the network but raising debates about centralization.
- EIP-7691: Increases the number of blobs per block (up to 9), optimizing data storage for layer 2 and reducing costs in solutions like Rollups.
These changes have driven a 12% increase in ETH burn, temporarily reversing network inflation, and allow for a gas limit 66% higher, according to developer Justin Drake.
2. Impact on Scalability and Layer 2
Pectra consolidates Ethereum as a base for layer 2 solutions, such as Optimism and Arbitrum, by improving its capacity to process off-chain transactions. For example:
- Base (from Coinbase) reported a 2.5% increase in its throughput after the update.
- L2 fees were reduced thanks to the blobs, which temporarily store data off the main chain.
Additionally, future updates, such as Fusaka, are expected to continue this trend, bringing Ethereum closer to its goal of 1 gigagas per second (equivalent to ~10,000 TPS).
3. Security and Challenges
Not everything is an advantage. EIP-7702 has raised alarms about phishing risks, as a malicious contract could drain funds if users sign transactions without verification. Experts like Vladimir S recommend exercising caution with unconventional wallets.
On the other hand, the increase in maximum stake per validator (**EIP-7251**) could concentrate power in a few actors, a dilemma between efficiency and decentralization.
4. The Future: Ethereum 2.0 and Beyond
Although Pectra is a crucial step, Ethereum continues to work towards its long-term vision:
- Sharding: To distribute the data load and improve scalability.
- Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs): Key to achieving greater privacy and efficiency in L1.
- Sustainability: The PoS model has already reduced energy consumption, but further optimizations are being sought.
Conclusion
Ethereum's updates in 2025, led by Pectra, reinforce its position as the backbone of DeFi and dApps. However, the balance between innovation, security, and decentralization remains a challenge. With a constantly evolving ecosystem, Ethereum prepares to face competition from networks like Solana, maintaining its leadership through technical improvements and institutional adoption.
For developers and investors, understanding these changes is key to seizing opportunities in the world's most versatile blockchain.