Ethereum will roll out the Hoodi testnet on March 17 as part of its final quality checks before adding Pectra to its operational system. The new features will launch in April when Hoodi meets all upgrade requirements and successfully performs the fork.
Before going online Ethereum has used test environments to test all Pectra features and ensure they perform and stay reliable. The process of testing started with Holesky on February 24 before adding Sepolia on March 5. Ethereum uses its Hoodi testnet to complete validator exit testing before starting the network system.
Once testing on Hoodi works without problems Tim Beiko expects deployment of Pectra to mainnet thirty days after the successful advertised fork.
Pectra Brings Key Ethereum Upgrades
The significant update to Pectra involves the creation of account abstraction according to EIP-7702. Users will gain more flexibility in paying transaction fees because they can now select USD Coin (USDC) or any other token instead of relying solely on Ethereum (ETH). The change targets making the Ethereum system work better by giving users more choices and ways to access it.
Through EIP-7251 Pectra introduces validator staking enhancements by letting users stake up to 2,048 ETH instead of 32 ETH. The update increases validator security by giving them more funds to stake even though it means running-validator rules need to change for the sake of network stability.
Pectra includes many Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) besides EIP-7702 and EIP-7251 that work to enhance both network performance and user experience. The EIP-7691 plan aims to let more transactions pass through and make the network handle more traffic. EIP-7623 gives people a way to make transactions while keeping personal data private. The smart contract optimization EIP-2537 lowers the price of performing contracts besides making them run faster. EIP-7549 lets Ethereum Layer 2 networks work better together to build a smoother blockchain network.
Ethereum tests all changes thoroughly because it cares about making sure the network runs smoothly. As Hoodi concludes its testnet phase before Pectra launches to the public Ethereum fans closely observe if the upgrade makes the blockchain more practical to use and improves both staking activities and transaction speed.
Ethereum may release Pectra to the public after successful testing on Hoodi completes in April.
