Christine Kim, a researcher at Galaxy Digital, has called the upcoming ethereum upgrade known as Prague-Electra, also known as Pectra, “possibly the largest in ethereum history.” in a x.com/christine_dkim/status/1798789476182847802″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>thread At x, Kim laid out the code changes and highlighted how Pectra could fundamentally alter ethereum's security and operational paradigms.
Why ethereum Pectra's Upgrade is Massive
Pectra follows the successful implementation of the Dencun upgrade, which launched in March 2023, marking it as the next significant advancement for the ethereum network. It integrates a variety of ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP) that focus on key aspects of the network's functionality, from cryptographic improvements to improvements in system efficiency. Here's a closer look at each of Prague's changes:
- EIP-2537: This EIP aims to add operations for the BLS12-381 curve as a precompile. This move is crucial to perform operations such as BLS signature verification, improve security through stronger cryptographic proofs, and facilitate better interoperability with the ethereum Beacon Chain.
- EIP-2935: Written by Vitalik Buterin and others, EIP-2935 proposes storing the last 8192 block hashes in storage slots of a system contract. This enables stateless execution and is a critical step toward the upcoming upgrade to Verkle trees, which aims to dramatically reduce state size and improve network scalability.
- EIP-7685: Written by Lightclient, this proposal presents a general-purpose bus for sharing EL-triggered requests with CL. Its implementation is expected to streamline the code testing process and the implementation of execution-triggered requests, such as those related to consensus layer changes.
- EOF (ethereum Object Format) – This is a collection of 10 EIPs that overhaul the way EVM bytecode is processed. The expected result is an improvement in the dapp developer experience by making smart contract code execution more efficient, logically sound, consistent, and updatable.
- EIP-7702: Proposed by Vitalik Buterin, Sam Wilson, Ansgar Dietrichs and Matt Garnett, this EIP aims to introduce a new transaction type that allows the code for externally owned accounts (EOA) to be set during a transaction. This could significantly improve the user experience by enabling transaction batching, sponsored transactions, and more flexible control over EOAs.
Several key EIPs have been confirmed for the Electra portion of the upgrade, addressing crucial aspects of validator operations and system efficiency:
- EIP-6110: This EIP proposes to provide validator deposits as a list of deposit operations added to the execution layer block. This change simplifies the validator experience by eliminating the need to vote deposits, reducing the complexity of client software, and decreasing the delay between the submission of a deposit transaction and its processing in the consensus layer.
- EIP-7002 – Written by Danny Ryan and others, allows validators to trigger partial exits and withdrawals using their execution layer withdrawal credentials, improving the design of trustless staking pools.
- EIP-7251 and EIP-7549: These proposals focus on optimizing validator balance configurations and improving the efficiency of certifications within blocks, which could reduce network bandwidth requirements and improve overall security .
Uncertainties and schedule
Kim also revealed that “in addition to the confirmed EIPs for Pectra, the developers are also working on some parallel initiatives such as PeerDAS, history expiration, and thin client development. Depending on how they go, we could see new EIPs included in Pectra later.”
It highlights that multiple EIPs are currently being prepared for implementation in development networks (devnets), which marks a change in the ethereum governance process. This strategic staging allows the community to adjust the scope of the update based on real-world test results, ensuring robustness and stability before full deployment.
Active participation from the ethereum developer community is crucial as ongoing discussions, testing, and feedback shape the final configuration of the Pecta upgrade. The next stages involve further devnet deployments and community reviews, with the possibility of some EIPs being deferred for later updates depending on their readiness and impact assessment.
Finally, “it's unclear how big or small Pectra will end up being, as developers aren't sure which EIPs will be activated together and what will be activated separately,” Kim concluded. ethereum's core development team has set a goal of rolling out the Pectra upgrade by the first quarter of 2025.
At press time, eth was trading at $3,807.
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