Ethereum Developers Mull Splitting Pectra Upgrade Into Two Phases to Launch Sooner

Ethereum developers are contemplating a split of the much-anticipated Pectra upgrade into two phases to ensure they launch something as early as possible to meet the community's expectations.

Ethereum developers are considering splitting the highly anticipated Pectra upgrade into two phases to ensure they can launch something as early as possible and meet the community’s expectations.

During a meeting on September 12, developers discussed the possibility of launching the first phase of Pectra by early 2025, with a February target being considered feasible.

“There is broad agreement that if we split, the idea is to ship Pectra one as quickly as possible, with early next year as our target,” a developer shared at the Ethereum execution layer meeting. Another developer echoed this optimism, saying that a February release seems realistic given the potential split.

Developer Danno Ferrin suggested that the split would only make sense if the first phase could be shipped in the first quarter of 2025, while Ethereum researcher Ansgar Dietrichs warned that if the first phase is not shipped by June, the upgrade would be considered a failure.

“A split where we still only ship the first half in June would be a failure,” said Dietrichs.

This sentiment is shared by industry experts, with Galaxy crypto researcher Christine Kim saying that the split is highly likely given the complexity of the Pectra upgrade. She also noted that the scope of the upgrade could change significantly if developers decide to go for a two-phase release.

What is the Ethereum Pectra Upgrade?

The Pectra upgrade combines two major components — the Prague upgrade focused on the execution layer and the Electra upgrade targeting the consensus layer — and promises to greatly enhance the scalability and operational efficiency of the Ethereum blockchain.

However, due to the upgrade’s complexity, there have been discussions about splitting it into two separate hard forks.

Despite the challenges, there is widespread optimism within the Ethereum community. Both Ethereum researcher Christine Kim and educator Sassal have commented that Pectra is shaping up to be one of the biggest upgrades in Ethereum’s history, with Sassal calling it the biggest upgrade to date.

A final decision on the Pectra upgrade split is expected to be made at the next Ethereum All Core Developers (ACD) meeting on September 19.