Ethereum schedules Pectra mainnet activation for May 7
April 04, 2025
The long-awaited Pectra hard fork is now scheduled to go live on May 7, 2025. The update includes 11 major EIPs and aims to simplify crypto wallet functionality.
Delays Caused by Testnet Issues
The Ethereum development team confirmed that the Pectra upgrade will be activated in the mainnet on May 7, one week later than the originally planned date of April 30. The decision was made during a recent core developers’ call.
Pectra introduces 11 simultaneous Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). One of the key features is the integration of smart contract functionality into wallets, making them easier to use and recover.
Initial testing in the Sepolia (consensus layer) and Holesky (execution layer) testnets encountered technical issues. In Sepolia, malicious interference complicated the process, while in Holesky, developers were unable to verify validator exit functionality even after network recovery.
New Testnet Hoodi Launched for Final Checks
To complete final validations, developers launched a new long-term testnet called Hoodi on March 17. The Pectra upgrade was deployed there within the same month.
As a reminder, Ethereum developers discussed accelerating the update schedule back in February. The previous major upgrade, Dencun, was successfully implemented in April 2024.