#Ethereum

The Ethereum ecosystem is perpetually evolving, and the upcoming Pectra upgrade marks a significant milestone in its journey. The Pectra upgrade is not merely a routine update; it’s a strategic step toward bringing substantial improvements and new capabilities to the Ethereum network. The upgrade introduces a series of Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) that will enhance the network’s functionality, scalability, and user experience.

This dual-layer hard fork upgrade is currently being tested on Ethereum testnets. It went live on Holesky in February and is set to launch on Sepolia in March. If testing proceeds smoothly, the Ethereum Pectra upgrade is expected to be scheduled for mainnet deployment soon.

As Ethereum advances toward this pivotal upgrade, it is vital to understand the core components of the Pectra upgrade. Explore this blog to know its potential impact and the technological advancements it brings to the broader Ethereum network.   

Ethereum and Its Major Upgrades

Since its launch in 2015, Ethereum has undergone around 20 significant upgrades. Each upgrade implements a set of Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) that help address the network’s weaknesses and make it competitive in a crypto world. 

With the hard fork Paris Upgrade in September 2022, also known as ‘The Merge,’ Ethereum switched its consensus mechanism from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, which enables investors to stake their ETH and earn rewards. 

The ‘Dencun’ upgrade released in March 2024 also gained significant traction for reducing fees drastically on Layer 2 scaling solutions and increasing blockchain’s speed. Dencun hard fork introduced blob transactions (EIP-4844) and laid the foundation for more scalable rollups. 

A year after Dencun, the “Pectra” upgrade introduced key improvements focused on security, scalability, staking operations, and developer tooling.$ETH