Ethereum developers plan to launch Pectra after the successful Dencun upgrade to implement a series of improvements, with an expected completion by the end of 2024 or early 2025.
Author: Margaux Nijkerk
Translated by: Blockchain in Plain English
Following the important Dencun upgrade, which successfully reduced transaction costs on Layer2 blockchains, Ethereum developers are planning the next round of blockchain improvements. While the specific details of the next upgrade "Pectra" have not been finalized, developers have previously stated that their goal is to initiate the next round of chain upgrades alongside the release of this upgrade.
"The idea of Pectra is to try to find a series of relatively quick wins, while we are also prototyping larger changes," said Tim Beiko, Ethereum Foundation's protocol support lead, in an interview with CoinDesk's "The Protocol" podcast.
Participants in Thursday's Ethereum all-core developers' call, a bi-weekly meeting of the blockchain's main developers, indicated that "Pectra" may include Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 3074, a set of code changes aimed at improving the user experience (UX) of Ethereum wallets. Specifically, this proposal will allow users to batch process transactions and sign them all at once.
Another major change that may occur in "Pectra" is raising the staking limit for validators from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH—a 64-fold increase. This proposal, known as EIP-7251, will allow large staking providers like Coinbase or Lido to integrate their validators operating on the Ethereum blockchain, while avoiding the creation of new validators each time an additional 32 ETH is staked.
According to data from Dune Analytics, there are currently over a million validators operating on the Ethereum network, raising concerns about excessive latency. Developers have been looking for ways to slow down the rate of new validators entering the system, which could potentially overload the system. EIP 2751 is seen as a way to alleviate the operational burden of large stakers, integrate the number of validators on the blockchain, and allow staking providers to reduce resources deployed to staking and validation.
The name "Pectra" is a portmanteau of two upgrades taking place simultaneously on different levels of the blockchain. The execution layer, where protocol rules are executed, will undergo the "Prague" upgrade, while the consensus layer, ensuring blocks are validated, will undergo the "Electra" upgrade.
Ethereum developers are known for their combined upgrades, similar to the previous "Dencun" upgrade, which combined the Deneb and Cancun upgrades into "Dencun" (previously there was "Shapella"). Ethereum's naming convention follows the cities where Devcon is held for the execution layer, and follows the names of stars in alphabetical order for the consensus layer.
Other noteworthy EIPs include triggering validator withdrawals through smart contracts, adding code changes called BLS precompiles, and canceling the deposit window. These are relatively minor network changes for developers. Following "Pectra," the next upgrade will include the highly anticipated "verkle tree"—a new type of data structure designed to help Ethereum nodes store large amounts of data.
Developers aim to release "Pectra" by the end of 2024 or early 2025. "This will be a relatively small upgrade. The reason for this is that it allows us to handle two forks at the same time. We are looking into Verkle trees and transitions," developers said. "We are doing this work, but it will take more than a year. So, during this time, we have the energy to handle other small wins."
Source: CoinDesk
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