Pectra hard fork explained — Will it get Ethereum back on track?
The Ethereum Pectra hard fork, scheduled for March 2025, aims to address ongoing scaling issues within the platform. Initial plans included multiple Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), but it has since been split into two phases. The first phase will temporarily double the number of data availability blobs from three to six, which is insufficient for the growing Layer 2 (L2) demand. A future upgrade, Fusaka, is expected to introduce Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS), drastically enhancing blob storage efficiency by using a torrent-like system to manage data. Other significant Pectra upgrades include enabling all accounts to switch to smart accounts for improved functionality and raising the validator staking limit from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH. This is designed to lower network overhead and improve decentralization. Although Pectra will bring essential improvements, experts believe the Ethereum community needs to push for quicker updates to keep pace with the demands of the ecosystem. Vital stakeholders, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, are aware of the urgency for enhancements that address fragmentation and interoperability in Ethereum's user and developer experience.
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