[Bitop Review] Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade Targets April 30 Mainnet Launch: A Potential Turning Point for ETH?

Ethereum’s most significant upgrade of the year, Pectra, officially kicked off late last month. However, the upgrade encountered consecutive issues on the two major testnets, Holesky and Sepolia, leading to delays and a process that can only be described as tumultuous.

Finally, last night (March 27), Ethereum developer Terence announced on the social platform X that the Pectra upgrade is tentatively scheduled to go live on the mainnet on April 30. Only a few minor issues remain to be resolved at this stage.

To address the successive problems on the Holesky and Sepolia testnets, Ethereum core developers created a third testnet, Hoodi, in mid-March to better prepare for the Pectra upgrade. Hoodi was officially launched on March 17. According to CryptoSlate, the Hoodi testnet has performed stably since its debut and successfully completed its fork on March 26. As a result, the Ethereum Foundation decided to replace Holesky with Hoodi, with plans to retire Holesky officially in September this year.

Pectra Upgrade Faces Bumps but Sets Mainnet Date

The Pectra upgrade will be a major update to the Ethereum network in 2025, combining Prague (execution layer upgrade) and Electra (consensus layer upgrade). It aims to enhance Ethereum’s scalability, security, staking efficiency, and user experience, marking it as another key milestone following the 2024 Cancun (Dencun) upgrade.

Ethereum’s performance in this bull market has been underwhelming. Beyond the community’s disappointment with the Ethereum Foundation, the price has also struggled to gain traction. Consequently, the Pectra upgrade is seen as one of the critical factors that could bolster ETH’s price.

As of this writing, ETH is temporarily priced at $2,010, down 19.35% over the past month and 42.52% over the past year—nearly cut in half. Whether the Pectra upgrade can reverse Ethereum’s downward trend remains to be seen.

Core Developers Chart Ethereum’s Future Path

Despite frequent criticism from the community over ETH’s price performance and the Foundation’s operations, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko recently reiterated in an interview the network’s core development philosophy, which prioritizes security and scalability. He also provided a detailed overview of the upcoming Pectra upgrade and how the future Fusaka and Glamsterdam upgrades will drive significant progress in areas such as Layer 1 scaling, Layer 2 infrastructure, account system modernization, and virtual machine performance improvements.

While Ethereum’s upgrade process may be relatively slow and cautious, this steady and methodical approach ensures the long-term stability and sustainability of the Ethereum network.

Disclaimer: None of the information contained here constitutes an offer (or solicitation of an offer) to buy or sell any currency, product or financial instrument, to make any investment, or to participate in any particular trading strategy.