Ethereum developers have confirmed the Pectra upgrade schedule for the Holesky and Sepolia test networks. Holesky will undergo the upgrade on Feb. 24, followed by Sepolia on March 5. If these upgrades proceed without issues, Ethereum’s main network is set to activate Pectra on April 8.
The decision came during the All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) Call #205 held on Feb. 13. Protocol Support Lead at the Ethereum Foundation, Tim Beiko, led the discussions. Developers debated the timeline for freezing the scope of the next upgrade, Fusaka. Beiko proposed setting a deadline to finalize Fusaka’s scope once Pectra goes live on the mainnet.
Ethereum developers debate EIP inclusion
However, the Geth team expressed concerns, arguing the timeline was rushed. They also suggested excluding EOF (EVM Object Format), a significant EIP included in Fusaka. To address this, Beiko proposed extending the timeline for proposing new EIPs to a month, offering flexibility to all client teams.
During the call, Parithosh Jayanthi, EF DevOps Engineer, reported that the Pectra development network (Devnet 6) was performing excellently, with near-perfect validator participation. No client teams reported issues in releasing the final software for the public testnet upgrades. Developers will also deploy Pectra on the ephemeral Ethereum Ephemery testnet for testing.
While planning for Fusaka, discussions revealed differing opinions on the inclusion of EOF. Some developers, like those from the Geth team, questioned its readiness and relevance, especially with ongoing advancements in zkEVM technology. Proposals were made to either delay EOF or decouple it from Fusaka, ensuring smoother implementation timelines.
Beiko emphasized the importance of timely decisions to avoid delays. He suggested a revised timeline for Fusaka: March 13 for proposing EIPs, March 27 for client feedback, and April 10 to finalize its scope. Developers agreed to revisit these dates if necessary, ensuring that PeerDAS, another critical upgrade, is not delayed.
