Ethereum Pectra Upgrade Set for March With Layer 2 Transaction Fee Improvements
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has announced that the Ethereum Pectra upgrade will launch in March, significantly enhancing the network’s scalability.
| Key Takeaways: – Ethereum Pectra upgrade will launch in March, doubling Layer 2 capacity by increasing the “blob” target from 3 to 6. – Ethereum’s gas limit has surpassed 32 million, and nearly 49.5% of blocks support further increases. |
The Ethereum Pectra upgrade will increase the “blob” target from 3 to 6, effectively doubling the capacity of Layer 2 (L2) solutions.
Blobs, introduced through Ethereum’s previous Dencun upgrade under EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding), are temporary data packets designed to store large amounts of transaction data off-chain while keeping minimal references on the main chain.
The Ethereum Pectra upgrade is part of the network’s long-term development roadmap, aiming to improve performance and decentralization. The upgrade is expected to benefit rollups and other scaling solutions, easing congestion on the main network and lowering transaction costs.
Ethereum developers initially planned to implement Pectra as a single update but later opted for a phased approach due to its complexity. The first phase, set for early 2025, will introduce Account Abstraction improvements and validator upgrades to enhance staking rewards and user accessibility. The second phase, expected in 2026, will focus on technical enhancements such as the EVM Object Format (EOF) and PeerDAS.
The announcement comes as Ethereum’s gas limit surpasses 32 million, a milestone that allows validators to process more transactions per block. Nearly 49.5% of Ethereum blocks signalling support for an increase, which could further enhance the network’s efficiency. The news has also boosted the ETH price to surge over 13% to $2,800 following a previous downturn.
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