Developers have already identified nine Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) for the upcoming hard fork of Ethereum. The Pectra upgrade is set to be one of the most extensive in the network’s history, prompting developers to consider splitting its deployment into two separate hard forks.
Following a recent All Core Devs Execution call on June 6, Christine Kim from Galaxy Digital tweeted that developers are exploring the possibility of executing the upgrade in two phases. Nine EIPs have been confirmed for inclusion, with five more under consideration. These upgrades are being staged in batches across devnet implementations to allow for Pectra’s scope to expand before deployment.
Pectra’s upcoming Devnet 1 will include the same eight EIPs tested on Devnet 0. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s chief scientist, has stated that Pectra is one of the final upgrades expected to introduce disruptive changes to Ethereum. The upgrade will include five execution layer upgrades and four consensus layer upgrades, covering various EIPs dating back to 2020.
One critical component of Pectra is EIP-2935, which will enable the introduction of Verkle Trees and statelessness. Verkle Trees will eliminate the need for nodes to store the network’s state locally, reducing computational requirements for validators. Other upgrades being considered include validator light clients and the formal deletion of historic data from full nodes after a set time period.
Consensus layer upgrades in Pectra aim to improve the functionality and efficiency of Ethereum staking. Execution layer upgrades will focus on enhancing interoperability between the Ethereum mainnet and its Beacon Chain consensus layer, as well as improving the Ethereum Virtual Machine and smart contract execution efficiency.
While some upgrades are still unconfirmed for inclusion in Pectra, developers are actively considering additional improvements. These may include features to make it easier for staking pools to verify validator slashes and potential changes to the rate of new Ether issuance. However, proposals like these have sparked debate within the community, with concerns about potential impacts on Ethereum’s tokenomics and governance.