Catenaa, Monday, March 24, 2025 – Ethereum is gearing up for its Pectra upgrade, a significant development aimed at improving scalability and staking flexibility.
Developers launched the Hoodi testnet on March 17, ahead of the anticipated mainnet upgrade, which could occur as early as April 25.
This follows two previous testnets, Holesky and Sepolia, which encountered technical issues.
The Pectra upgrade will enhance Ethereum’s scalability by expanding storage for layer-2 networks and reducing transaction fees. It will also introduce flexibility in staking, allowing validators to stake up to 2,048 ETH, a considerable increase from the current 32 ETH limit. Additionally, users will be able to pay gas fees with multiple tokens, including stablecoins like USDC, and third-party fee sponsorship will be allowed.
Ethereum’s price has remained relatively stable, with a modest 0.5% increase over the past 24 hours, trading just over $1,900. However, the asset has lost 13.3% over the past week amid broader macroeconomic pressures, including ongoing trade tensions linked to President Trump’s policies.
Despite facing criticism for slow development and poor price action, Ethereum continues to push forward with significant upgrades. The Pectra update, if successful, is expected to be the largest Ethereum upgrade since The Merge in 2022, which transitioned the network to proof-of-stake.
Developers are optimistic that the Hoodi testnet will address issues from previous trials, particularly the invalid block problem encountered on Holesky.
