Ethereum’s highly anticipated Pectra upgrade, considered one of the network’s most significant updates, is now potentially facing a split into two separate hard forks due to its complexity. Tim Beiko, Ethereum Foundation’s protocol support lead, recently disclosed this development on September 12.
Details on Ethereum’s Planned Pectra Upgrade
Christine Kim, a researcher at Galaxy Digital, shed light on the reasoning behind this decision, citing the extensive number of updates in the pipeline for Pectra. The upgrade may encompass more than 20 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), with an additional six updates currently in the review stage.
Kim highlighted that the initial phase of the upgrade could see a launch as early as February next year, followed by the second phase later in the year. The first phase is set to incorporate all components from devnet 3, including the eagerly awaited EIP 7702, championed by Vitalik Buterin. This particular EIP aims to empower Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) to function as smart contract wallets, enhancing security and user experience in transactions. Other upgrades in the first phase encompass EIP 7251 and EIP 6110, which focus on facilitating validator deposits on-chain.
The subsequent phase will concentrate on implementing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) Object Format (EOF) and PeerDAS. The EOF introduces an opt-in container system to streamline EVM code, representing a significant advancement for Ethereum. PeerDAS, a data availability sampling solution, leverages Ethereum’s peer-to-peer components to enhance data distribution and scalability, fortifying the network’s overall resilience.
Kim indicated that with Pectra 1 potentially rolling out in early 2025 and Pectra 2 later that year, developers might reconsider EIPs that were initially rejected for the first upgrade.
Furthermore, during the upcoming All Core Devs call next Thursday, developers will decide whether to split Pectra into two separate upgrades. Kim suggested that given the complexity of the upgrade and the desire to incorporate additional features, a split is highly probable. Developers are striving to avoid scope creep, but the evolving discussions surrounding Pectra could potentially lead to a reevaluation of certain EIPs post the Pectra 1 implementation.
Stay tuned for further updates on Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade as the crypto community eagerly anticipates the network’s evolution.