The Evolution of Ethereum: The Pectra Upgrade
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The Evolution of Ethereum: The Pectra Upgrade
Ethereum Staking Revolution: The 2048 ETH Era Has Arrived!
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Consensys
Translation: Nicky, Foresight News
Ethereum's Pectra upgrade will take place today at 18:05 Beijing time. This is the first upgrade since the Dencun upgrade in March last year, including a 64-fold increase in the maximum validator staking limit to 2048 ETH (EIP-7251). Could whale holdings reshape Ethereum's network landscape? Meanwhile, direct validator self-exit permissions are being opened at the execution layer (EIP-7002). Can this exit mechanism take control of Ethereum's lifecycle?
What is Pectra
Since its inception, Ethereum’s goal has been to create a new decentralized trust foundation for building a global settlement system. To achieve this, the Ethereum developer community continuously evolves the protocol, having implemented around 15 core technology updates so far. The 16th update—Pectra—is another major network upgrade for Ethereum, scheduled to officially launch on May 7, 2025.
Pectra combines two coordinated upgrades: the Prague execution-layer hard fork and the Electra consensus-layer upgrade. Pectra is the first upgrade since the Dencun upgrade in March 2024 and will be by far the most feature-rich Ethereum upgrade to date, incorporating 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). Together, these EIPs will deliver key features that advance Ethereum: major user experience improvements through smart accounts and delegation; enhanced staking functionality making it easier for institutions and individual investors to secure the network; and significant improvements in Layer 2 (L2) integration, potentially doubling network efficiency. Overall, Pectra is a major and exciting update that will reshape Web3.
Beneath the technology and EIPs, these upgrades will make Ethereum faster, more usable, and more efficient. The network’s core user interface—the wallet—will undergo its most important improvement in history via the introduction of smart accounts. Smart accounts allow end-user accounts to function like smart contracts, effectively turning every wallet into a programmable platform tailored to user needs. Staking will receive major enterprise-level enhancements, with deposit limits increasing 64-fold and new features such as incremental staking balances. This will make it easier for institutions to set up and manage validator nodes while significantly reducing unnecessary network overhead. For Layer 2 networks (L2), blob space will double, immediately doubling performance, lowering costs, and speeding up transactions.
"Pectra marks a new phase for Ethereum, demonstrating how the protocol continues to evolve!" — Mehdi AOUADI, Senior Protocol Engineer at Consensys.
Ethereum’s Continuous Evolution Through Hard Forks
Ethereum is one of the world’s most active networks, home to a large and dedicated group of developers committed to advancing it. As such, Ethereum is constantly evolving to improve scalability, security, and usability. These improvements are implemented via hard forks—network-wide protocol upgrades that adjust how Ethereum operates. Hard forks are not backward-compatible, meaning all node operators must update their software to remain synchronized with the network. Upgrades may affect the execution layer (handling transactions and smart contracts), the consensus layer (responsible for block validation and staking), or both.
In the past two years, Ethereum has completed three major hard forks: The Merge, Shanghai/Capella, and Dencun. Each played a critical role in Ethereum’s long-term roadmap. The Merge completed the transition to proof-of-stake (PoS), drastically reducing energy consumption. Shanghai/Capella unlocked validator withdrawals, solidifying the staking mechanism. Dencun introduced blob transactions, significantly reducing rollup costs and launching Ethereum’s rollup-centric scaling strategy.
Ethereum network upgrades are implemented through Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs)—open-source project proposals developed collaboratively by the community and eventually deployed. The Pectra upgrade includes a record number of EIPs, all focused on optimizing three core areas: user experience (UX), staking, and Layer 2 (L2).
"Upgrades like Pectra may appear technical on the surface, but they’re actually making Ethereum more user-friendly, scalable, and aligned with user behavior," said Tian Lim, Director of Technical Project Management at Consensys.
The Future Roadmap for Ethereum as Global Financial Settlement
These upgrades align with Ethereum’s broader vision, built upon six roadmap phases: The Merge, The Surge, The Scourge, The Verge, The Purge, and The Splurge. These stages focus on sustainability, scalability, censorship resistance, state optimization, and overall refinement. As Ethereum progresses through these phases, each hard fork becomes a milestone pushing the protocol closer to its goals.
At the heart of this roadmap lies an ambitious and increasingly tangible aspiration: to make Ethereum the global financial settlement layer. This means creating a platform capable of securely and efficiently processing all types of transactions—micro-payments, token transfers, cross-chain trades, decentralized lending, institutional staking—all executed on-chain with seamless global interoperability. To achieve this, Ethereum must continuously enhance performance, reduce costs, support frictionless user experiences, and do so without compromising decentralization.
Today, Ethereum prepares for its next major upgrade—Pectra—building upon foundations laid by prior hard forks. Next, let’s examine all the Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) planned for inclusion in the Pectra upgrade.
Progress Across Ethereum’s Roadmap Phases
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The Merge: Completed (September 2022)
Transition from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS). This shift brought significant energy efficiency gains and established the foundation for staking.
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The Surge: Ongoing (Dencun upgrade complete, Pectra upgrade in progress)
Focus: Scalability via rollups and data availability.
Key upgrades: Proto-danksharding (EIP-4844), blob transactions (introduced in Dencun), increased blob capacity (planned in Pectra)
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The Scourge
Focus: Minimizing Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) and enhancing censorship resistance. Work is ongoing on proposer-builder separation (PBS) and fairness in inclusion.
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The Verge
Focus: Improving state efficiency via Verkle trees. This reduces storage requirements and improves node performance.
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The Purge
Focus: Simplifying the protocol and clearing technical debt. Removing historical data burdens to lower node requirements.
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The Splurge
Focus: Wrap-up work and additional improvements. Includes UX fixes, cleanup, and functional optimizations.
What’s Included in the Pectra Upgrade
Planned Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs)
EIP-7702
Set Code for Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs)
Enables externally owned accounts (EOAs) to operate like smart contract accounts during a single transaction, unlocking features such as sponsorship and delegation without requiring migration to smart contract accounts (SCAs).
This proposal introduces the ability for EOAs to temporarily behave like smart contracts by attaching executable code to a single transaction.
Without this proposal, EOAs remain rigid, and users wanting batched transactions, gas sponsorship, or smart recovery would need to migrate to full smart contract accounts. This EIP elegantly solves that issue by allowing EOAs to adopt custom validation logic only for relevant transactions. It is highly user-friendly and represents a major transformation in wallet UX, effectively bridging the gap between EOAs and account abstraction.
EIP-7251
Increase Maximum Effective Balance
Increases the staking cap per validator from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH, reducing the total number of validators and improving network efficiency.
This proposal raises the maximum effective balance per validator from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH. The current 32 ETH cap has caused a surge in validator count, straining the network and increasing hardware requirements for node operators.
Without this upgrade, Ethereum’s validator set would grow uncontrollably. By allowing higher staking amounts per validator, this EIP reduces the number of validators, simplifies block production and finality processes, and enhances overall network performance. Users may not immediately notice this change, but it is crucial for Ethereum’s sustainability at scale.
EIP-7002
Execution-Layer Triggerable Exit Mechanism
Allows validators to exit the network via the execution layer, enabling smarter, programmable staking workflows.
This proposal allows validators to initiate their exit process through the execution layer, rather than relying solely on consensus-layer mechanisms. Previously, validators could only use the consensus layer, preventing automated or contract-driven exits.
Without this flexibility, advanced use cases like smart contract-based staking managers or automated strategies would be difficult to build. This EIP increases programmability and composability by enabling execution-layer-initiated validator exits. While not directly visible to end users, it enhances staking flexibility and lays the groundwork for more advanced validator services.
EIP-6110
On-Chain Validator Deposit Supply
Moves validator deposits to the execution layer, simplifying and increasing transparency in staking participation.
By directly supplying validator deposits on-chain via the execution layer, this proposal streamlines validator onboarding. Previously, deposits had to go through consensus-layer relays, adding unnecessary complexity and potential delays.
Without this EIP, Ethereum relies on implicit signaling and message passing between layers—an opaque and inefficient method. Embedding deposits into the execution layer makes participation more transparent and predictable. While average users may not directly perceive this change, it strengthens the staking ecosystem and supports clearer separation of responsibilities between execution and consensus layers.
EIP-7691
Increase Blob Throughput
Increases the number of blobs per block to enhance data availability and lower transaction costs for Layer 2 (L2) networks.
This proposal increases Ethereum’s target blobs per block from 3 to 6, and maximum from 6 to 9, providing more space for Layer 2 rollups to submit data. Under the current Dencun (EIP-4844) limits, Ethereum allows up to 6 blobs per block, targeting 3. Pectra raises the cap to 9 and adjusts the network’s incentive target to 6, effectively doubling expected blob throughput.
Without this adjustment, blob space would become a bottleneck as rollup demand grows. This change directly benefits users by lowering L2 fees and improving scalability.
EIP-7840
Add Blob Scheduling Mechanism to Execution Layer Configuration
Introduces standardized blob scheduling rules in the execution layer configuration to support future scalability upgrades.
Currently, clients lack a unified approach for handling scheduled blob changes. This proposal embeds standardized blob scheduling rules into the execution layer configuration, preparing Ethereum for future upgrades expanding blob functionality. Without this EIP, coordinating blob capacity upgrades would be chaotic and error-prone. The proposal adds a shared structure for managing blob evolution across forks, smoothing future scalability efforts. While ordinary users won’t see this change, it’s vital infrastructure for Ethereum’s long-term roadmap.
EIP-7623
Increase Calldata Fees
Raises calldata fees to incentivize rollups to use blobs instead of calldata, improving network scalability.
This proposal increases the cost of calldata (unstructured data attached to transactions) to encourage rollups to adopt blobs introduced in EIP-4844 for data publication.
Without this change, L2 solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum might continue using calldata, which is more expensive and less efficient than blobs. This EIP helps shift usage from calldata to Ethereum’s newer blob infrastructure, enhancing scalability and lowering costs. While users don’t directly see this, they’ll indirectly benefit from lower L2 fees, with implementation largely invisible to them.
EIP-7685
Generic Execution Layer Request Format
Creates a standardized communication format between execution and consensus layers, improving compatibility for future upgrades.
This proposal establishes a better foundation for execution-to-consensus layer communication by defining a universal request format.
Currently, execution-to-consensus communication is limited and lacks standardization. Without this proposal, future upgrades requiring robust cross-layer data sharing would be difficult to implement. EIP-7685 doesn’t directly impact users but is a key enabler for upgrades like Verkle trees and deeper integration between layers.
EIP-7549
Move Committee Index Out of Attestation Structure
Optimizes consensus data structures to reduce bandwidth usage and improve performance.
This proposal removes the committee index from the attestation structure, improving consensus efficiency. Currently, attestations carry separable extra data, bloating their size and complicating optimization.
Without this change, Ethereum’s consensus messages would continue carrying redundant information, increasing bandwidth and storage demands. This EIP restructures attestations to be more compact. Though deeply internal, it enhances consensus layer performance and future adaptability.
EIP-2935
Store Historical Block Hashes in Blockchain State
Expands access to older block hashes, supporting more advanced on-chain applications and trustless random number generation.
Currently, Ethereum smart contracts can only access the hashes of the last 256 blocks, limiting dApps that rely on older yet recent on-chain data. This proposal stores recent historical block hashes directly in the blockchain state, resolving this limitation.
Without this EIP, developers would struggle to build applications based on older chain data. By extending hash storage duration, this proposal opens new possibilities for random number generation, proof systems, and trustless oracles. While most users won’t notice, it significantly benefits developers building complex on-chain logic.
EIP-2537
BLS12-381 Precompile
Adds a high-efficiency precompiled contract for BLS signature verification, supporting staking and cross-chain applications.
This proposal introduces a precompiled contract for BLS12-381 curve operations, solving the challenge of efficiently verifying BLS (Boneh–Lynn–Shacham) signatures on-chain. Without it, cryptographic operations—especially those used in staking and bridges—are too gas-intensive to be practical.
This EIP adds a native precompile, drastically reducing gas costs for these verifications. While end users don’t interact with it directly, it strengthens Ethereum’s cryptographic infrastructure, supporting future interoperability and scalability features.
"EIP-7702 elevates wallet UX to a new level. It’s a crucial step toward mainstream blockchain adoption." — Daniel Lehrner, Senior Blockchain Protocol Engineer at Consensys.
Enhancing Web3 UX with EIP-7702: Setting EOA Account Code
Improving core user experience is essential for driving Web3’s mainstream adoption. The shift to smart accounts marks a fundamental change in how the network operates. Previously, all programmable functionality came from smart contracts users interacted with; now, users can leverage their own programmable wallets, leveling the playing field with professional developers. The potential of smart accounts is immense, opening a new frontier for developers and innovators.
EIP-7702 enables externally owned accounts (EOAs) to temporarily gain smart contract account capabilities within a single transaction by adding a contract_code field. This allows users to use advanced features like transaction batching, gas sponsorship, and smart validation logic without deploying a separate contract. Unlike EIP-4337, which relies on external infrastructure like bundlers and paymasters, EIP-7702 is directly integrated into Ethereum’s core protocol. This integration lowers adoption barriers, improves compatibility, and makes smart account features more accessible to everyday users.
For MetaMask users, this means existing accounts can now use smart account features. For example, with MetaMask’s Delegation Toolkit, users can delegate wallet permissions—functions previously available only to smart contract accounts.
"Now, the maximum effective balance for validators can reach 2048 ETH. And if users wish to withdraw part of their effective balance, they can do so using EIP-7002 messages." — Lucas Saldanha, Principal Protocol Engineer at Consensys.
Unlocking Institutional Staking with EIP-7251 and EIP-7002: Higher Effective Balances and Execution-Layer Validator Exits
Staking is undergoing enterprise-grade upgrades.
EIP-7251 and EIP-7002 make critical improvements to Ethereum’s staking architecture, making it more scalable, flexible, and developer-friendly.
EIP-7251 increases the maximum effective balance per validator from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH, enabling large stakers to consolidate assets while reducing the total number of validators. This eases consensus layer load, supports future performance upgrades, and does not disadvantage smaller participants.
EIP-7002 allows validator exit processes to be triggered via the execution layer, enabling smart contracts and applications to manage validator lifecycles on-chain. This is a key step toward programmable, automated staking workflows.
"EIP-7691 and EIP-7623 will help improve throughput and mitigate worst-case scenarios by optimizing how blocks are propagated and processed." — Ameziane (Performance-focused Engineer)
Unleashing L2 Performance with EIP-7691 and EIP-7623: Moving from Calldata to Blobs for Better Rollup Efficiency
L2 efficiency will double overnight.
EIP-7691 and EIP-7623 work together to push Ethereum rollups from relying on calldata to using blobs, improving scalability and reducing execution layer strain.
Blobs were first introduced during the Dencun upgrade in March 2024 via EIP-4844, offering rollups a cheaper temporary data storage alternative to calldata. However, due to familiarity with existing tools and blob space constraints, many rollups still rely on calldata. To address this, EIP-7623 increases calldata gas cost from 16 to 42 per byte, discouraging its use. But to make the transition viable, EIP-7691 increases Ethereum’s blob capacity, raising the target blobs per block from 3 to 6 and the maximum from 6 to 9.
This coordinated adjustment makes blob space more accessible while reducing calldata’s appeal, helping networks like Linea scale more efficiently at lower costs and faster finality. Developers can now design applications relying on blob availability, improving predictability and performance for users. This is part of a planned evolution: in the upcoming Fusaka upgrade, target blobs per block will reach 36, max 52, achieving over 10x gains in efficiency, throughput, and cost. Fusaka, the upgrade following Pectra, is expected to further expand blob capacity to a target of 32 and maximum of 56.
The Path Forward for Ethereum
The Pectra upgrade is a pivotal step forward for Ethereum and its ecosystem. MetaMask plans to support EIP-7702, enabling regular externally owned accounts (EOAs) to transact without paying gas fees, while also enabling social recovery and delegation. ConsenSys’ staking service is also ready to implement EIP-7251, allowing validator stakes to increase up to 2048 ETH and reducing operational costs across the network.
Linea is actively preparing early support for EIP-7691, allowing its developers to leverage higher blob capacity and enjoy lower rollup fees even before mainnet launch. Beyond technical readiness, Linea is gradually becoming the most aligned Layer 2 (L2) network within the Ethereum ecosystem and could emerge as Ethereum’s official second layer. This means Linea may adopt these upgrades ahead of their formal mainnet rollout, giving developers early access to powerful features and enabling them to deliver benefits to users at unprecedented speed.
Looking ahead, Ethereum’s next major upgrade—Fusaka—is expected to deliver full danksharding via PeerDAS, significantly boosting network speed and scalability. Combined with the foundation laid by Pectra, these changes are part of Ethereum’s gradual evolution toward becoming a truly scalable, high-efficiency global settlement layer.
"The future is bright, and transformative changes like PeerDAS are coming in the next few months. We should see a massive leap in Ethereum’s rollup capabilities, further cementing its position in the blockchain ecosystem," said Gabriel Camargo Fukushima, Senior Blockchain Engineer II at Consensys.
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