Ethereum's Pectra update went live on May 7, 2025. It introduces three major Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs): EIP-7702, EIP-7251, and EIP-7691.
EIP-7702 allows externally owned accounts to behave as smart contracts. They can cover gas costs and payments in tokens other than Ether. This EIP simplifies user flows and enables gasless transactions. EIP-7251 increases the validator staking limit from 32 to 2,048 ETH. It streamlines operations for huge stakeholders.
On the other hand, EIP-7691 increases the number of data blobs per block. This enhances layer-2 scalability and may considerably lower transaction fees. The upgrade also includes the EIP-6110. It allows the execution-layer block to send information about fresh validator deposits to the consensus layer. This modification is in response to client issues discovered on Ethereum test networks.
Experts believe Pectra lowers entrance barriers and improves the user experience. However, some are concerned about potential security dangers.
Despite concerns about client flaws, the Ethereum community is confident that teams strive to prevent difficulties on the mainnet. Pectra represents a huge step forward for Ethereum. It adds smart account functionality, increases scalability, and simplifies staking. The patch attempts to improve Ethereum's accessibility and use.
