The launch date was disclosed on February 13 during the All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) Call #205. According to Tim Beiko, Ethereum Foundation Protocol Support Lead, the Pectra upgrade will first go live on the Holesky testnet on February 24 and Sepolia on March 5. On April 8, the upgrade will be completed when Pectra is activated on Ethereum’s mainnet.
One of the key improvements in Pectra is the increase in Ethereum’s blobspace from three to six blobs in each block. This change will enhance Layer 2 data availability, reducing both costs and congestion. The upgrade will also introduce execution-layer enhancements to improve overall network performance. By accelerating the rate at which Ethereum burns coins, Pectra will further support Ethereum’s deflationary model.
The London hard fork was the first to implement Ethereum’s burn mechanism, which permanently removes a percentage of ETH transaction fees. However, ETH burning was slightly reduced by the Dencun upgrade’s addition of blobspace. Pectra’s decision to double the blobspace limit is expected to increase the amount of ETH burned. According to Justin Drake, an Ethereum researcher, these burn mechanisms could help Ethereum regain its position as “ultra sound money.”
As previously reported by crypto.news, the Pectra upgrade could have a positive impact on ETH price. However, investors are advised to remain cautiously optimistic. The price of ETH has fluctuated since falling below the psychological $3,000 mark. With waning market enthusiasm, ETH has been trading in the $2,695 range for the past week, failing to break through the $2,800 resistance.
On-chain metrics show a different trend. In January, DefiLlama data revealed that Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) reached its highest level since 2022. ETH could benefit from the rising on-chain activity. Ethereum ETFs continue to attract significant investor interest. According to data from SoSoValue, net inflows into ETH ETFs have reached $3.14 billion as of February 13. Additionally, after Cboe BZX filed a 19b-4 with the SEC to allow staking for the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF, Ethereum may see a rise in demand.
