The Ethereum ecosystem has received a major boost with the Sepolia testnet upgrading to Pectra. This upgrade was confirmed earlier today (Mar. 5, 2025) by Terrence, a member of the Ethereum development team. 

https://twitter.com/terencechain/status/1897188184871854145

With this upgrade which combines the Prague and Electra updates, Ethereum is set to have enhanced scalability, usability, and staking. The recent successful launch moves the Pectra upgrade closer to going live on the mainnet. 

More Details About the Ethereum Pectra Upgrade 

The Ethereum Pectra Upgrade is a much awaited update by the crypto community, especially Ethereum enthusiasts. This upgrade is set to be the largest Ethereum upgrade with a total of 11 EIPs and will bring some major improvements to the network. 

Among them, the Account Abstraction (EIP-7702) will make wallets operate in a manner similar to smart contracts. The abstraction feature will make it possible for users to pay transaction fees through USDC assets instead of ETH which is the sole means currently. This improvement represents a significant achievement for how users interact with the ecosystem. 

Additionally, the Pectra Upgrade features Staking Enhancements (EIP-7251) through which validator staking limits will grow from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH. Implementation of this feature reduces complexity especially for large owners who need to manage their staking. 

Under EIPs 7691 and 7623 the update enables scalability features alongside boosting Layer-2 (L2) capabilities. Network users will gain improved data management that will enhance system efficiency as well as reduce costs and encourage wider adoption of L2 scaling solutions.

The upgrade will also provide development and infrastructure enhancements. This will happen through sophisticated smart contract implementation and EIP-2537 cryptographic performance and EIP-7549 consensus protocol innovation. PeerDAS and Verkle Treesto will serve as additional features to develop long-term scalability.

Pectra Upgrade Ran Into Issues; Lead Dev Confirms 

Ethereum Foundation’s protocol support lead Tim Beiko confirmed earlier that the Pectra upgrade had faced some issues. “Well, seems like I jinxed it,” Beiko shared on X joking about the “hope I don’t jinx it this time” statement shared by Terrence earlier. 

“We’re investigating an issue caused by the custom deposit contract on Sepolia. This has caused some EL clients to have issues including transactions in blocks,” Beiko further added. Once the issue is resolved, the Pectra mainnet launch will happen on April 8 after the successful upgrade of both Holesky and Sepolia testnets to Pectra. 

ETH Expected To Surge Upon Pectra Upgrade 

The Pectra upgrade brings major benefits to Ethereum as explored above. In fact, the crypto community expects a huge price push following the upgrade. According to a post by crypto analyst Dippy.eth, for instance, the “development should push $ETH up a few notches when it happens.” 

As of the time of this writing, Ethereum is trading at $2,218.94 after experiencing turbulence as the crypto market crashed yesterday. The current price level marks a significant 6.4% surge on the day. 

Following the recent development Ethereum investors are extra-bullish on the number one altcoin by Market Cap. Ted, a crypto analyst and investor shared that an “Ethereum whale bought 17,855 $ETH worth $36,000,000 at an average price of $2,054” today, confirming increased confidence. 

The whale now holds a total of ETH worth $2.53 billion. Nonetheless, cryptocurrencies like Ethereum are highly volatile and investors as well as traders should perform thorough research before investing.