Ethereum Set to Launch Pectra Upgrade with 11 Major Code Changes
Ethereum developers are set to launch the Pectra upgrade on May 7, marking a significant code change since the Merge in 2022. Key details include:
- Pectra combines upgrades to Ethereum's consensus and execution layers.
- The upgrade includes 11 major changes (EIPs) aimed at improving user-friendliness and efficiency.
- EIP-7702 introduces smart contract capabilities for wallets, allowing gas fees to be paid with currencies other than ETH.
- EIP-7251 simplifies staking for validators, increasing the maximum stakable ETH from 32 to 2,048.
- Initial plans for Pectra were delayed due to complex code changes and bugs found during testing on multiple testnets.
The price of ETH has decreased by nearly 42% over the past year, compared to a 1.5% dip in the CoinDesk 20 Index.