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- Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade introduces EIP-7702, allowing regular accounts to function like smart contracts, making transactions more flexible and efficient.
- Changes like EIP-7251 let validators stake up to 2048 ETH instead of 32 ETH, making staking more efficient for small and large participants.
- EIP-7691 expands Ethereum’s data storage for Layer 2 networks, helping reduce fees and improve transaction processing.
Ethereum’s latest network update, Pectra, is to make its debut on Holesky testnet today, 9:55 pm UTC. The update is designed to offer space for testing and analyzing new capabilities before enabling them on Ethereum’s mainnet. The network is to have a future testnet rollout on March 5 on Sepolia.
Key Features of the Pectra Upgrade
Pectra follows last year’s Dencun update and is meant to advance Ethereum’s capabilities in several areas. The update is to introduce enhancements in account management, validator experience, and layer 2 (L2) scaling.
The upgrade is comprised of multiple Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) to better handle transactions, reducede-congest the network clogging, and improveprovide greater protection capabilities for users.
Among the most salient updates is EIP-7702, which allows for smart-contract-like behavior for Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs). The updates make possible such advanced features as secondary authenticators, gas fee sponsoring, and transaction batching. The validators, for their part, will have their operation made efficient and their staking upgraded.
Smart Account Capabilities with EIP-7702
One of the most salient updates in Pectra is EIP-7702, driving Ethereum to full account abstraction. The improvement makes EOAs, traditionally used by individual actors, smart-contract capable while maintaining their simplicity.
This new function is made more flexible. No longer do users only have to use standard private key signatures. Now, EOAs can delegate their execution to a specified contract.
This enhances protection by enabling expenditure limitations, multiple factor authentication, and recovery for accounts. In addition, it facilitates third-party gas sponsoring, in which transfers might be made independent of having to hold ETH in the sending party’s account.
Enhancements for Ethereum Validators
Pectra enhances validator experience by vital updates. EIP-7251 raises max validator’s stake to 2048 ETH, up from 32 ETH, to allow automatic compounding of rewards.EIP-7002 allows withdrawals via an execution layer address, reducing reliance on signing keys. EIP-6110 cuts deposit activation time from nine hours to 13 minutes. These changes improve staking efficiency and reduce network strain.
The introduction of EIP-7691 will also improve Ethereum’s data-handling capabilities. This update increases the blockchain’s blob storage capacity by 50%, allowing Layer 2 solutions to process transactions more efficiently.
Blobs, which were initially deployed in the Dencun update, allow for on-chain storage of compressed transaction data in a temporary context. Pectra, by expanding blob space, will help to reduce layer 1 transaction fees for layer 2 clients. Pectra also includes EIP-7623, capping worst-case block size to keep network clogging in check.
The Pectra upgrade provides technical updates to enhance Ethereum’s scalability, usability, and security. Its implementation on Holesky and Sepolia testnets permits testing of such changes before their implementation on Ethereum’s mainnet.
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