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Ethereum developers are pushing forward with the Pectra upgrade, despite a series of unexpected technical setbacks that have delayed its deployment on the mainnet. The upgrade, initially expected to go live in March, has faced multiple challenges across testnets, leading to the creation of a new test environment to ensure a smooth transition.
Pectra’s Rocky Testnet Journey
The upgrade was first deployed on Ethereum’s Holesky testnet on February 24 but ran into finalization issues, prompting developers to investigate and troubleshoot the problem. A second attempt followed on March 5 with deployment on the Sepolia testnet. However, this phase also encountered unexpected issues, worsened by an attacker exploiting an edge case to force the mining of empty blocks.
Recognizing the need for better preparation, Ethereum’s core developers launched a new testnet named “Hoodi” on March 17. The final Pectra test is now scheduled to take place on Hoodi on March 26. If successful, Pectra could be deployed on the Ethereum mainnet as early as April 25.
Developer Fatigue Sets In
With multiple setbacks and long hours spent troubleshooting unexpected test net failures, Ethereum’s core development team is feeling the strain. Nixo Rokish, a member of the Ethereum Foundation’s protocol support team, acknowledged the exhaustion among developers. The consensus layer team, in particular, has been under pressure due to the ongoing issues, making Hoodi their third attempt to validate the upgrade.
Rokish highlighted that Holesky’s failure was partly due to the network operating with an unusually small validator set, something that had never been tested before. This resulted in validator nodes overloading their RAM and memory as they attempted to maintain state information for the majority of validators operating outside the canonical chain.
Despite the exhaustion, developers remain committed to solving these challenges to ensure Pectra’s successful launch.
Ethereum’s Broader Progress
While the Pectra upgrade has experienced delays, Ethereum’s overall progress continues at a strong pace. The network successfully implemented the Dencun upgrade on March 13, 2024, bringing significant improvements. Notably, Ethereum’s once notoriously high gas fees have plummeted by 95%, reaching historic lows of just 0.28 gwei on March 23.
As the final Pectra test on Hoodi approaches, the Ethereum community remains hopeful that these last hurdles will be cleared, paving the way for a smooth mainnet launch next month.