Ethereum's Long-Awaited Pectra Upgrade Goes Live Next Week, Promising Major Improvements

Ethereum is set for a major upgrade next week with the introduction of Pectra, which will bring 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) to the blockchain.

Among the changes is EIP-7702, which will see the introduction of gas fee sponsorship, enabling users to pay gas in tokens other than ETH.

This addition will be especially integral for new users, mobile apps and crypto gaming, which are currently known to suffer from friction due to gas fees and wallet complexity.

Another key upgrade is the increase of the validator limit from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, which will be brought about by EIPs 7251, 6110 and 7002.

These EIPs will also simplify validator entry/exit processes and improve staking efficiency and flexibility.

This change is especially relevant for institutional validators, who have been reducing their presence in ETH over the past year.

Pectra will create more avenues for institutions to participate in staking and, in turn, could lead to greater amounts of ETH being locked away from circulation.

The Pectra upgrade is expected to have a positive impact on both the demand and supply-side dynamics of ETH.

It will be interesting to see how the crypto reacts to the addition of these 11 EIPs, and what this means for the broader market.