Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade is poised to debut on the Holesky and Sepolia testnets in February and March 2025, as confirmed by Ethereum core developers.
On February 6, it was announced that the Pectra upgrade will initiate on the Holesky test network on February 24, 2025, followed by the Sepolia test network on March 5, 2025.
If successful, this highly awaited network enhancement is scheduled for its mainnet launch in April 2025, slightly delayed from earlier projections of March.
Tim Beiko, a prominent Ethereum core developer, provided updates on the timelines, indicating that Holesky will fork at slot 3710976, while Sepolia is set to fork at slot 7118848.
“Assuming Sepolia goes smoothly, we’ll pick the mainnet slot on the March 6 ACD call,” Beiko stated.
The crucial meeting for Ethereum’s All Core Developers is planned for March 6, 2025, to finalize the Pectra mainnet launch date.
The Pectra upgrade is anticipated to bring eight significant enhancements to the Ethereum network, focusing primarily on wallets and validators. Notable proposals include EIP-7702 and EIP-7251, designed to bolster security and efficiency within these components.
The announcement regarding the Holesky and Sepolia testnet timelines marks the approach of Ethereum’s first major upgrade since the Dencun update in March 2024, which was instrumental in lowering layer 2 gas fees.
Should Pectra proceed as scheduled, the next upgrade on the horizon is the Fusaka upgrade, projected for the fourth quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, ETH, the native token of Ethereum, has faced challenges in recent months, lagging behind Bitcoin and other leading altcoins. The pressure has been compounded by controversies surrounding the Ethereum Foundation. However, after experiencing a dip to around $2,100 amid recent market sell-offs, ETH has rebounded to approximately $2,900.
With the upcoming Pectra testnets and the potential mainnet launch in April, could this be the turning point ETH needs?
