Ethereum (ETH) Prepares to Launch Pectra Network Upgrade, Promises Scalability and UX Improvements

Ethereum (ETH) is gearing up for a significant network upgrade named Pectra, set for May 7, 2025. This update will focus on improving scalability, user experience, and staking efficiency.

Coming after a period of muted price action, Pectra might be the spark Ethereum needs to regain investor attention. It arrives as ETH trades at around $1,799, down 56% from its December 2024 high.

What’s Changing With Pectra

Pectra combines elements from two previous upgrade tracks—Prague and Electra—and introduces several key improvements:

Scalability: Pectra will increase the maximum block gas limit from 10 million to 15 million. This change will allow for more transactions to be processed within each block, thereby enhancing the network’s overall throughput.

User Experience: The upgrade will also reduce the minimum gas price to 0.1 Gwei (gas units) from 1 Gwei. This adjustment will minimize transaction fees for users, particularly during periods of high network congestion.

Staking Efficiency: Pectra will introduce a new adjustment to the "total difficulty bomb delay." This change will keep the network secure and prevent any sudden shifts in the planned timeframe for transitioning to a proof-of-stake (PoS) chain.

What This Means for ETH Price

These upgrades could affect ETH’s price in several ways:

Increased Scalability: Pectra will introduce several changes that aim to increase the throughput of Ethereum’s network. In essence, this will allow for more transactions to be processed per second.

Lower Transaction Fees: The upgrade will also decrease the minimum gas price, which is the fee charged for processing transactions on the Ethereum network.

Technical Indicator Breakout: Technical indicators suggest that ETH may have reached a local bottom and could be preparing for a rebound. Notably, Relative Strength Index (RSI) broke out of its downtrend on April 20, signaling a potential reversal after several months of decline.

Can Pectra Trigger a New Rally?

Previous upgrades, such as the Merge in 2022 and Shapella in 2023, didn’t manage to drive lasting rallies due to broader market conditions. However, Pectra is arriving during a potentially stronger phase, closely resembling 2021, when upgrades fueled a major bull run for cryptocurrencies.

If the broader crypto market cooperates and Bitcoin (BTC) can maintain its recent gains, Pectra could help Ethereum regain momentum. Otherwise, even successful upgrades might not be enough to ignite a strong rally.

What’s Next

Later in 2025, Ethereum plans to launch another upgrade called Fusaka. Together with Pectra, these updates are crucial for keeping Ethereum competitive in the evolving cryptocurrency landscape and investor-focused.