Source: Ebunker

In the first quarter of 2025, Ethereum will usher in the Prague/Electra upgrade, referred to as the Prague upgrade or Pectra upgrade, which is the next milestone for Ethereum. Unlike previous major upgrades, the Pectra upgrade does not have a prominent main goal, but instead focuses on multiple technical improvements and optimizations. This article will introduce the important content involved in this upgrade.

The following are the main points of the upgrade:

(1) Bring significant improvements to the scalability of Ethereum, including L2 solutions such as sharding technology and rollup.

(2) Through advanced encryption technology and improvements to the PoS protocol, the security and stability of Ethereum will be enhanced.

(3) Developers will benefit from new programming languages, improved tools and simplified smart contract deployment.

(4) Users can expect a more intuitive and easier-to-use experience, lower gas fees and a more friendly wallet interface.

(5) Upgrades will continue to solve environmental problems and make Ethereum more energy-efficient and sustainable.

The Pectra upgrade will introduce a series of improvements and enhancements that will have a profound impact on the Ethereum ecosystem, covering various Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). Here is an overview of these EIPs:

< p>Verkle trees and statelessness: EIP-2935 introduces Verkle trees and enables statelessness in Pectra. Verkle trees eliminate the need for nodes to store network state locally, greatly reducing the computational burden on validators.

Validator light clients: In addition to Verkle trees and statelessness, Pectra may contain three additional "parallel upgrades". These upgrades include the development of validator light clients that allow users to verify the network without downloading the entire Ethereum blockchain.

According to Ethereum developers, light clients are designed to enhance Ethereum’s decentralization by enabling verification through “resource-constrained devices such as tablets and phones.”

Outdated historical data: Since nodes no longer need to store Ethereum’s complete block history, EIP-4444 formally provides for the deletion of historical data from full nodes after a specified period of time, further reducing computational requirements and Improve node decentralization.

According to Vitalik Buterin, "The amount of data required to run a node will be reduced from terabytes to potentially running a node in ordinary computer memory." However, the deleted block history will To preserve archives, nodes and dapps that need access to deleted block history can query third-party data services after EIP-4444 is implemented.

Consensus improvements (several upgrades planned by Pectra aimed at improving staking efficiency):

EIP-6110 aims to reduce staking collateral on the Ethereum mainnet execution layer and the beacon chain. betweenLatency, as well as the processing of these transactions, simplifies validator client software.

EIP-7251 enhances the security of the network by slowing the growth and reducing the size of the Ethereum validator set.

The current pain point is that the maximum valid balance for an Ethereum validator is 32 ETH. Therefore, to stake more than 32 ETH, the staking provider must launch multiple validators, each of which must stake 32 ETH. Since each validator must keep pace with the rest of the network, a proliferation of validators can put a strain on the network’s communication layer.

The Pectra upgrade will allow staking providers to consolidate their staking onto fewer validators by increasing the maximum effective balance to 2,048 ETH. This will reduce the number of messages that need to be passed around the network, taking pressure off the validator network layer and potentially improving the efficiency and performance of the network.

Meanwhile, EIP-7002 expands the design options available to staking pool developers, while EIP-7549 focuses on improving proof efficiency, thereby reducing network load and the bandwidth required by nodes.

Execution upgrades: On the execution layer, EIP-2537 and EIP-7865 aim to improve interoperability between the Ethereum mainnet and its Beacon Chain consensus layer. This enhances the functionality of decentralized staking pools, dapps, and DAOs that interact with the beacon chain for staking. A set of EIPs related to the EVM Object Format (EOF) designed to upgrade the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the core engine of Ethereum smart contracts. EOF aims to improve the upgradeability of EVM contracts and improve the efficiency of smart contract code execution.

EIP-7702 is a proposal to bring smart account functionality to regular Externally Owned Account (EOA) wallets, enabling batch transaction execution, transaction fee sponsorship, and delegated wallet security.

However, considering the complexity of the project, the Ethereum team stated that EOF and EIP-7702 may be deleted from this upgrade or divided into two hard forks.

Pending EIP: Although EIP-7688 has not yet been confirmed to be included in the Pectra upgrade, it simplifies the process of the staking pool verifying whether participating validators have been slashed (fined).

The developers are also considering a proposal to reduce the issuance rate of new Ether. However, many community members are opposed to the recommendations made by Ethereum Foundation researchers, as frequent changes to the network's token economics without broad community input require careful consideration.

What the Pectra upgrade means to developers and users

The Pectra upgrade is of great significance to both Ethereum developers and users because it will change the functionality and user experience of the network.

For developers, improved scalability and reduced gas costs will enable developers to build more efficient and cost-effective dapps on the Ethereum network. enhanced development toolsThe introduction will simplify the process of creating and deploying smart contracts, promoting greater innovation and experimentation.

Developers have access to stronger security features and stability enhancements, allowing them to build applications with greater trust and reliability. The overall developer experience will be improved through better documentation, support, and a more dynamic and collaborative ecosystem.

For users:

1. Improved scalability will speed up transaction processing and reduce network congestion;

2. Lower gas fees will Make Ethereum-based transactions more accessible and usable to a wide range of users;

3. Enhanced user-friendliness, such as improved wallet interface and intuitive token management, will make the APP even easier to use in the future.

The environmental sustainability improvements introduced by the Pectra upgrade will address concerns surrounding the network’s energy consumption, making Ethereum a more attractive option for environmentally conscious users. By meeting the needs of developers and users, the Pectra upgrade positions Ethereum as a more powerful, scalable and user-friendly platform that continues to drive widespread adoption and innovation in the decentralized ecosystem.

The impact of the Pectra upgrade on the development of Ethereum

By solving the network’s scalability challenges, enhancing security and stability, and introducing developer-friendly features, this upgrade will reach new heights for Ethereum and Reinforcing its position as the leading platform for the decentralized ecosystem. Ebunker believes that by continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible, Ethereum has the potential to transform the way people interact with and utilize blockchain technology—enabling developers, users, and the broader community to unlock new possibilities.