- Ethereum Pectra mainnet upgrade faces delay beyond April 2025.
- Developers prioritize thorough testing on Hoodi testnet before setting new date.
- History Expiry implementation also affected by the postponement.
The highly anticipated Ethereum Pectra mainnet upgrade has been delayed beyond its initial April 2025 target date, according to decisions made during Ethereum’s All Core Developers Consensus Call (ACDC) #153 on March 20. This postponement reflects the development team’s cautious approach to ensuring the network upgrade proceeds without complications.
During the call, Ethereum’s core developers reviewed Pectra’s progress but opted against confirming a specific mainnet launch date. Instead, they decided to monitor the upgrade’s performance on Hoodi, a recently launched testnet specifically designed to assess Pectra’s stability under controlled conditions.
This approach aligns with statements from Ethereum Protocol Support Lead Tim Beiko, who previously indicated that timing would depend on successful testnet implementation.
“Pectra will be scheduled 30+ days after Hoodi forks successfully, pending infra and client testing. Fusaka planning will run in parallel, with a deadline of March 24 to propose EIPs, and a tentative date of April 10 for a scope freeze,” Beiko explained in earlier communications.
The primary justification for postponing the upgrade centers on the need for exhaustive testing. Developers are utilizing the Hoodi environment to simulate real-world network conditions and identify potential vulnerabilities before activating Pectra on Ethereum’s mainnet.
The upgrade is scheduled to go live on Hoodi on March 26, with the development team planning to carefully observe its performance before committing to a mainnet release timeline.
An additional factor complicating the Pectra timeline is History Expiry, a planned maintenance process originally scheduled for May 1. This procedure, linked to Ethereum Improvement Proposal 6110 (EIP 6110), would modify how validator deposit history is handled within the Ethereum network.
Given Pectra’s integral role in facilitating this process, the upgrade delay necessarily pushes back the History Expiry implementation as well, prompting developers to reconsider the timeline for this maintenance operation.
The cautious approach follows a recent incident on the Sepolia testnet, where Pectra implementation encountered unexpected issues. “Sepolia’s Pectra upgrade hit a snag because a node didn’t upgrade in time—sounds trivial, but it’s a reminder: Ethereum’s decentralization is only as strong as its weakest operator.
If one forgotten node can delay an upgrade, imagine what happens when real money is on the line,” noted one community member, highlighting the stakes involved in network-wide upgrades.
While Pectra testing proceeds, parallel discussions regarding Ethereum’s subsequent major upgrade, Fusaka, continue to advance. Developers are evaluating additional improvements for inclusion in future updates to ensure Ethereum maintains its position at the forefront of blockchain technology.
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