Successful Pectra Test: Is Ethereum Ready for Its Biggest Upgrade Yet?

On March 5, 2025, the long-awaited upgrade of Ethereum, called “Pectra”, reached a crucial milestone with its successful deployment on the Sepolia test network. This advancement brings the Ethereum community closer to the integration of Pectra on the mainnet, marking a major evolution since the last update in 2024.

Ethereum Pectra validated: Imminent launch?

Pectra encompasses 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP), aimed at optimizing various aspects of the network, including staking, wallet functionality, and overall network efficiency. Among these improvements, EIP-7251 stands out by increasing the staking limit for validators from 32 to 2,048 ETH. EIP-7702, on the other hand, introduces smart contract capabilities for wallets, allowing for programming similar to that of traditional smart contracts, thereby enhancing the user experience.

However, the path to this success has not been without hurdles. The previous week, a test on the Holesky network failed due to a misconfiguration among validators, leading to a chain split and rendering Holesky temporarily unusable. This incident raised questions about the deployment timeline on the mainnet.

Despite this setback, the success on Sepolia reinforces confidence in the stability and efficiency of Pectra. Developers are planning a meeting on March 6 to evaluate the test results and determine the official launch date on the mainnet. If the remaining tests proceed smoothly, the deployment of Pectra on Ethereum’s mainnet could take place as early as April 2025.

The ETH/BTC ratio at its lowest!

This advancement comes at a time when Ethereum is showing a nice rise of nearly 3% over the last 24 hours, currently trading at $2,230. However, this progression is not enough to reverse the trend of the ETH/BTC ratio, which has recently hit its lowest level since March 2021, reflecting a loss of momentum for Ethereum in favor of Bitcoin. Regulatory clarity and technological updates could certainly change the game for Ethereum, as Ryan Lee, Chief Analyst at Bitget, believes:

The underperformance of Ethereum against Bitcoin, reflected in the ETH/BTC ratio hitting a four-year low, is driven by Bitcoin’s institutional dominance, Ethereum’s unclear narrative, and weakened network activity […] however, historical patterns suggest a potential rebound if catalysts such as regulatory clarity or technological upgrades emerge… staking enhancements could reignite excitement by mid-2025.

The Pectra upgrade therefore represents a significant advancement for Ethereum. It strengthens its position as a preferred platform for decentralized applications and could even allow the network to overtake Bitcoin and trigger a bull run in the crypto market.