Ethereum Developers Delay Pectra Upgrade Due to Testing Issues
Ethereum's major upgrade, Pectra, has been postponed after two test runs revealed bugs. The decision was made on Thursday following tests on Holesky and Sepolia, which faced misconfiguration issues rather than problems with Pectra itself.
- Pectra aims to improve Ethereum's speed and usability amid competition from other blockchains.
- The mainnet launch expected in March is now uncertain pending further testing.
- A "shadow fork" of the Holesky network will be created to allow testing while the primary network is repaired.
- Holesky is crucial for developers, and it is anticipated to be operational again by March 28.
Pectra’s Improvements
- EIP-7702 introduces smart contract capabilities for crypto wallets, enhancing user experience through account abstraction.
- EIP-7251 raises the maximum ETH a validator can stake from 32 to 2,048, increasing convenience and reducing node setup time.
Criticism of the Ethereum Foundation has grown, with community frustration over the perceived lack of a cohesive development roadmap and concerns about ether's price performance.