Pectra Is Live on Ethereum: Here’s What You Need to Know

TL;DR

• Pectra Upgrade Successfully Activated on Ethereum Mainnet

  The major hard fork combining Prague (Execution Layer) and Electra (Consensus Layer) was activated on May 7, 2025.

• Key EIPs Introduced: Account Abstraction and Increased Validator Staking Limit

  Through EIP-7702 and EIP-7251, the upgrade enhances wallet functionality, operational efficiency, and maintains decentralization.

• Rollup Scalability and Data Flexibility Improved

  Dynamic blob capacity (EIP-7742) and blob scaling (EIP-7691) reinforce L2 fee stability and transaction throughput.

The latest Ethereum upgrade, Pectra, was successfully deployed on the mainnet on May 7, 2025. This hard fork merges the previously planned Prague (Execution Layer) and Electra (Consensus Layer) upgrades, aiming to significantly improve Ethereum's performance, scalability, and user experience.

Around the upgrade, major exchanges temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals for related assets. So, what exactly does the Pectra upgrade involve?

Upgrade Timeline

The Ethereum Foundation first officially introduced the Pectra upgrade on November 7, 2024, alongside the launch of the Mekong testnet. Mekong served as a short-term testnet integrating key EIPs planned for Pectra, allowing wallet developers and validators to test new features in advance.

Later, during the 203rd All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) meeting on January 16, 2025, developers tentatively set the mainnet launch for mid-March. However, issues found on the testnet delayed the schedule. The Ethereum Foundation eventually announced through its official blog that Pectra would go live on the mainnet on May 7, 2025.

Prague + Electra = Pectra

Pectra is a unified upgrade that combines the Execution Layer “Prague” and the Consensus Layer “Electra,” bringing a wide range of technical improvements. Among the most impactful are Account Abstraction (EIP-7702), Increased Validator Staking Limit (EIP-7251), and Dynamic Blob Capacity (EIP-7742), all of which help improve scalability and user experience on Ethereum.

Key elements of Pectra Upgrade

1. EIP-7702: Introduction of Smart Account Functionality (Account Abstraction)

Proposed by Vitalik Buterin and others, EIP-7702 allows an externally owned account (EOA) to temporarily act as a smart contract. By including smart contract code in a transaction, that code executes only for the duration of that transaction, and the EOA reverts to its normal state afterward.

This makes features like batch transactions, gas sponsorship (paymaster), and social recovery possible—dramatically improving wallet usability.

2. EIP-7251: Increase of Maximum Validator Balance

Previously, Ethereum validators could only stake up to 32 ETH. To stake more, they needed to run multiple validator instances, resulting in operational complexity and inefficiency.

With Pectra, the limit increases to 2048 ETH per validator, allowing large operators to consolidate nodes and improve efficiency. To preserve decentralization, there’s no limit on the number of validators. The penalty for slashing also scales with the staked amount, encouraging more responsible participation.

3. EIP-7742: Dynamic Adjustment of BLOB (Binary Large Object) Capacity

Blobs, introduced in EIP-4844, are a new data format used by rollups for cheap and scalable data submission. Previously, the number of blobs per block was fixed and hard-coded, limiting flexibility.

EIP-7742 moves blob-related parameters to the consensus layer and allows dynamic adjustment based on network conditions. The execution layer now references a new field, target_blobs_per_block, supplied by the consensus layer, enabling flexible and real-time blob management.

4. EIP-6110: Onchain Processing of Validator Deposits

Before Pectra, validator deposits were processed separately by the consensus layer, while the execution layer remained unaware. This led to complications and inefficiencies in tracking deposit status.

With EIP-6110, deposits are now included directly in the execution layer block, simplifying the logic and improving transparency. This also opens the door to improved UX and validator monitoring tools in wallets.

5. EIP-7002: Smart Contract-Controlled Staking Withdrawals

Previously, staking withdrawal credentials were tied to fixed EOAs or BLS keys, limiting flexibility. EIP-7002 enables smart contracts to control withdrawals, allowing automated, event-triggered, or conditional payout structures.

This makes it easier for staking pools, DAOs, and institutions to manage rewards, and allows implementation of additional security mechanisms like multi-signatures or delayed withdrawals.

6. EIP-7691: Blob Scaling

The number of blobs per block has been increased from 3 to 6, enabling Layer 2 solutions to maintain stable gas fees even during periods of high activity. This enhances Ethereum’s role as a reliable data availability layer.

Future Outlook: Ethereum After Pectra

Pectra is a pivotal upgrade focused on improving scalability and user experience, and lays the groundwork for future upgrades like Fusaka. Account abstraction via EIP-7702 is expected to significantly enhance wallet functionality, security, and accessibility.

However, these features are not immediately essential for all users, and actual adoption will depend on wallet and ecosystem support. At this time, D’CENT Wallet does not plan to implement these features. Users can continue to manage their ETH and tokens securely with the current version.

We will continue to monitor the Ethereum ecosystem and user demand, and will share any future updates through this blog.