Ethereum Pectra Upgrade: What’s new?
This article is part of a series aimed at expanding knowledge and understanding about the upcoming Ethereum upgrade, “Pectra.”
On May 30, 2024, the 134th ACDC (All Core Developers Consensus) meeting occurred. This virtual meeting gathers Ethereum developers to discuss key aspects concerning the network.
This meeting focused on some of the improvement proposals (EIPs) to be incorporated into the Ethereum upgrade popularly known as ‘Pectra.’ Part of the decisions made involved the implementation date, which has been moved to early 2025 due to the time required to execute the necessary tests on both the consensus layer and the execution layer (CE) to incorporate the respective EIPs into the Ethereum ecosystem satisfactorily.
In this article, we will compactly address the upcoming changes that are currently planned to be incorporated into the ecosystem when this upgrade goes live, especially those related to our target market: Validators.
What is Pectra?
The Ethereum upgrade dubbed “Pectra” is essentially the combination of improvements to be made to the execution layer, known as Prague, and the consensus layer, known as Electra, set for early 2025 as agreed by Ethereum developers in the latest ACDC meeting.
There are around 11 proposals (EIPs) aimed at improving the EVM code by introducing the EVM Object Format (EOF) to prepare Ethereum for both Layer 1 and Layer 2, focusing on long-term goals centered on scalability, resilience, and security.
“Pectra” will be the next significant step for the network in nearly a year and a half, following the successful changes implemented with the Dencun upgrade in March 2023, which enabled balance withdrawals in the Beacon Chain staking contract.
Involved EIPs
As usual, Ethereum developers and the Ethereum Foundation are working hard to fine-tune details ahead of the scheduled upgrade. These details, broken down into various improvement proposals, can be found in the key EIPs included so far, some of which include retroactive EIPs to clarify existing protocols.
Among the key EIPs are 2537, 2935, 6110, 7002, 7251, 7540, 7685, 7702, 7692, 3074, and 7549, among others. Additionally, there is a long list of EIPs considered for inclusion, which you can review in this ethereum thread.
From the list of EIPs approved for inclusion in the Pectra Upgrade and the EIPs under consideration, we can identify two major updates to consider in both the execution layer and the consensus layer (Beacon Chain).
As previously mentioned, these EIPs aim to improve security and scalability by increasing the maximum effective balance for validators from the current 32 ETH to 2048 ETH.
Additionally, the account abstraction from EIP-3074 has been replaced with EIP-7702 proposed by Buterin to bring account abstraction closer through a series of adjustments to the Ethereum protocol, introducing a new transaction called “user operation.”
From SafeStake’s perspective, we are keen to address the EIPs that affect validators and our ETH staking-centered business model, such as EIP-7251 regarding the increase in the validator’s maximum effective balance. This impacts the mechanics used so far by both individual and institutional staking pools regarding ‘validator compacting.’
In other words, the series of changes that EIP-7251 seeks to implement in Ethereum’s consensus layer aims to incentive’s validator consolidation and thus curb artificial decentralization in the Beacon Chain.
For now, we leave you with a list and brief explanation of the EIPs that may impact Ethereum through the upcoming major update “Pectra”:
- EIP-7002: Execution Layer Triggerable Exits
EIP-7002 proposes introducing a new mechanism to allow validators to trigger withdrawals and exits from their execution layer (0x01) withdrawal credentials. Traditionally, withdrawals could only be executed passively, leading to delays and performance issues. This modification suggests a significant improvement by allowing validators more control over their funds and operations, increasing the system’s efficiency and flexibility.
- EIP-2537: Precompile for BLS12–381 Curve Operations
This proposal aims to add a precompilation for pairing operations on the BLS12–381 curve, enabling faster and more efficient verifications. This curve is important for advanced protocols like zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-SNARKs) and aggregated signatures due to its cryptographic efficiency.
Implementing EIP-2537 could facilitate new applications and optimize existing ones that rely on advanced cryptographic operations on the Ethereum platform.
- EIP-2935: Save historical Block Hashes in State
This proposal suggests that historical block hashes be stored directly in the blockchain state. This way, these hashes will be easily accessible without needing to reconstruct them from chain data.
The main objective is to optimize access to these historical data, making the verification and querying of old blocks more efficient. Therefore, implementing EIP-2935 could improve Ethereum’s performance and usability, especially for applications requiring frequent access to past block information.
- EIP-6110: Supply Validator Deposits on Chain
This proposal suggests that validator deposits be supplied and stored directly on the blockchain. The primary goal of EIP-6110 is to enhance the transparency and security of the validation process by having all deposits available and visible on the blockchain. This would allow for simpler and quicker verification of validator deposits, ensuring that all participants can check the status and amount of deposits made.
Implementing this proposal would help strengthen trust and integrity in the validation process on the Ethereum network, thus improving its overall operation.
- EIP-7251: Increase the MAX_EFFECTIVE_BALANCE
This proposal suggests increasing the maximum effective balance (MAX_EFFECTIVE_BALANCE) for validators on the Ethereum network from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH. The “effective balance” refers to the amount of ETH a validator has that is used to determine their capacity to participate in the consensus process and receive rewards for validating and proposing new blocks.
This EIP seeks to increase the staking limit for validators to simplify staking operations and reduce operational load. The following chart shows the actual impact that unifying multiple validators into single validators could have with this EIP on the five largest staking pools.
- EIP-7549: Move committee Index Outside Attestation
Its goal is to move the committee index outside of the attestation. In simpler terms, currently, the committee index is included within the attestation process in the Ethereum protocol, and this proposal suggests separating it or moving it elsewhere. This could have several advantages, such as simplifying the process, improving efficiency, or enhancing system security. Note that in the ACDC#134 call, some changes were proposed to this EIP. You can review the proposal in more detail on GitHub.
- EIP-7685: General Purpose Execution Layer Requests
In simple terms, this proposal aims to introduce a flexible and versatile execution layer within the Ethereum protocol. Currently, the execution layers in Ethereum have specific and limited functions. The idea behind EIP-7685 is to enable these execution layers to handle a broader variety of requests and tasks.
- EIP-7702: Set EOA Account Code for One Transaction
In simple terms, EOA stands for “Externally Owned Account,” which is a type of account in Ethereum controlled by a private key outside the blockchain, unlike smart contract accounts.
This proposal suggests allowing an EOA to have an associated code for the duration of a single transaction. Normally, EOAs do not have code (they cannot execute smart contracts), but this proposal would allow an EOA to behave as if it had code for one transaction, thus enabling it to execute logic similar to smart contracts.
This could have implications for the flexibility and functionality of transactions on the Ethereum network, allowing externally owned accounts to perform more complex tasks without needing to be permanently smart contract accounts.
Learn more about EIP-7702 in our post here: Unpacking EIP-7702: Empowering Users with Enhanced Ethereum Interactions | by Ethstak3r | SafeStake | May, 2024 | Medium
- EIP-7692: EVM Object Format (EOFv1) Meta
EIP-7692 is an improvement proposal for Ethereum known as the “Meta EIP,” which lists the EIPs that belong to the EVM Object Format (EOF) proposal in its first version, also known as “Mega EOF.”
This proposal serves as a cConclusiónentral improvement and includes modifications to both the execution layer and the consensus layer for joint updates. EIP-7692 outlines the scope of the initial EOF version.
- EIP-7688: Forward Compatible Consensus Data Structures
EIP 7688 is a proposal that seeks to implement part of the data structure called “StableContainer” from the SSZ (Simple Serialize) format on the network. The objective of this proposal is to ensure future compatibility with changes that will be introduced through another proposal, EIP 7549, especially concerning data attestations.
The adoption of EIP 7688 aims to unify and standardize data structures between the Beacon (CL) blockchain and the execution layer (EL). This would improve interoperability and efficiency within the Ethereum network, allowing systems to maintain compatibility and benefit from continuous improvements in data handling. This proposal is being evaluated for possible inclusion in the next Ethereum upgrade, called Pectra.
It is worth mentioning that in the latest ACDC#134 call, some participants requested the removal of EIP-7549 and EIP-7688 from Pectra in favor of PeerDAS. PeerDAS is the implementation of data availability sampling in Ethereum, which is expected to greatly enhance the network’s ability to support rollups and their data availability needs.
Practically, PeerDAS is expected to increase the number of blob transactions validators can attach to a block from 3 blobs per block to 64 or more.
Conclusion
The “Pectra” upgrade promises to be a significant step in the evolution of the Ethereum network, with improvements spanning both the execution and consensus layers. These innovations, detailed through numerous EIPs, aim not only to enhance security and scalability but also to offer greater flexibility and efficiency to validators and other ecosystem participants.
The focus on validator consolidation and the introduction of new transactions and data formats demonstrate Ethereum’s continued commitment to adapting and growing in the face of technological challenges. As we prepare for implementation in early 2025, SafeStake will closely monitor these developments and their implications for our validators and the staking ecosystem.
Stay tuned for our upcoming articles for more analysis and updates on “Pectra” and how these innovations may impact your participation in the network.
Thank you for reading and staying informed about the latest advancements in Ethereum with SafeStake!
