Ethereum Developers Prepare for Pectra Upgrade Launch
Ethereum developers have finally rolled out a new testnet for Pectra after several unexpected issues delayed its deployment to the mainnet. Community members are now watching to see the impact of the upgrade preparation on ETH, the ecosystem’s native token.
Developers initially planned for the Pectra upgrade to go live on the mainnet in March. They deployed Pectra into the network’s Holesky testnet on February 24. The upgrade, however, failed to finalize the network due to a problem with the fork configuration. This prompted developers to investigate and address the causes.
As highlighted in our previous article, the Ethereum developers again introduced the upgrade on the Sepolia testnet. However, they encountered errors worsened by an unknown attacker who used an “edge case” to cause the mining of empty blocks.
The Ethereum Foundation soon announced the launch of another testnet, Hoodi, to better prepare for the Pectra upgrade. In our last update, we examined whether Hoodi will focus on testing validator exits and addressing limitations in Ethereum’s Holesky testnet.
Pectra may hit the mainnet as early as April 25 if it runs smoothly on the Hoodi testnet. Commenting on the upgrade, Nixo Rokish, an Ethereum Foundation protocol support team member, said developers are exhausted from the Pectra preparations. Rokish emphasized that consensus layer developers are particularly feeling the heat as Hoodi marks the third attempt to test Pectra.
Rokish further noted that the Holesky testnet failed in part because developers never tested it with a small validator set on the canonical chain. With only 10% left on the canonical chain, validators overloaded their RAM and memory. They eventually kept the state for 90% of validators on the non-canonical chain.
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s broader development continues to progress despite the recent testnet challenges. The network released the Dencun upgrade on March 13, 2024, which implemented many changes in the blockchain.
Can ETH Surge Before Pectra?
While the price of ETH is still down on the daily chart, the altcoin has moved over the $2,000 mark, fueling optimistic sentiments among investors. At press time, ETH price was trading at $2,070, down 1.02% but up 2.16% in the past seven days.
Based on the price chart, ETH may likely see consolidation between $2,050 and $2,150. Additionally, ETH’s growth rate is far from support and resistance levels. The low daily volume further confirms this, which indicates the absence of buyers’ or sellers’ strength.
However, Ethereum’s open interest in the futures market has risen substantially in anticipation of the Pectra upgrade. As detailed in our last news piece, Ethereum’s open interest recently rose from 9.40 million ETH to 10.10 million ETH. This surge signals growing interest in derivative positions, which could help push ETH to new highs.