Ethereum Pectra upgrade set for March 2025

Ethereum Foundation developers have set early to mid-March of 2025 for the mainnet fork of the Pectra upgrade, setting the stage for the next phase of Ethereum development. The developers agreed on this tentative date at the Execution Layer meeting held on January 16.

This follows the disclosure that the Pectra Devnet 5, a specialized testnet for testing the Pectra upgrade, is now live. According to Ethereum developer and Galaxy Research executive Christine Kim, the developers have also agreed on a schedule for deploying Pectra.

The timeline would see Pectra go live on a Sepolia testnet fork on February 12 and, by February 19, for the Holesky fork. By using the shadow forks of the two testnets, the developers plan to test any modifications to the Pectra upgrades without launching another devnet before the eventual implementation on the Ethereum mainnet.

However, Kim noted that this timeline could change, especially if the code has issues or bugs during testing.

She wrote:

“Keep in mind the above is a tentative and optimistic timeline for pectra activation on testnets and mainnet. Bugs and issues in code found during testing may delay the timeline.”

Nevertheless, Kim noted that after the Ethereum developers’ call, the odds of Pectra activation on Ethereum sometime in March are high.

What will Pectra upgrade offer?

The Pectra upgrade is the next major upgrade for the Ethereum network since the Dencun upgrade in April 2024, which lowered fees on the network. With the update, Ethereum is expected to have improved scalability as it would improve the mainnet consensus layer, making the transaction validation process more seamless.

Ethereum has faced major challenges with its performance during peak periods, leading to a rise in gas fees and slower transactions. With this problem now set to be addressed, the network is expected to become more accessible for users.

Meanwhile, Pectra will also improve decentralization and security on the Ethereum network while improving the overall user experience. Some of the features of the upgrades include the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-7702, which refines account abstract and improves the wallet experience for users, as well as the EIP-7251, which increases the maximum validator stake from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH.

Overall, the upgrade will benefit all Ethereum stakeholders while setting the stage for further network developments. The next upgrade is the Fusaka, which will contain some of the EIPs dropped from Pectra and is expected to enhance the ecosystem.

Ethereum underperforms major cap peers

Meanwhile, the potential upgrade to Ethereum represents good news for ETH, a token struggling over the last few days compared to its peers. Over the last seven days, ETH has only increased around 5% and continues to trade below $3,500.

By comparison, XRP is 42%  within that period, which sets its best price in years, while SOL has also gained 17%, reaching $221. Bitcoin itself has climbed above $100,000 again after almost 9% gains. The relatively weaker performance of ETH compared to these crypto assets has generated many bearish sentiments about the token, particularly in social media discussions.

However, Ethereum stakeholders have been bull-posting the token, noting that it is well-positioned to go higher with time. They note that the network remains the home of DeFi and enjoys regulatory clarity and adoption that no other altcoin has.

Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal said:

“Contrarian take : Ethereum pump is around the corner and its going to absolutely melt faces”

Still, some users blame Ethereum leadership for its struggles, noting that they failed to take advantage of its selling points to generate bullish momentum for the coin. That leadership is likely to change soon, with the Ethereum Foundation currently in the process of electing a new director.

From Zero to Web3 Pro: Your 90-Day Career Launch Plan