Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade Launches on Holesky Testnet, Whales Remain Optimistic and Continue Accumulating ETH
The Pectra upgrade symbolizes significant advancements in Ethereum’s scalability and security; however, the final confirmation issue on the Holesky testnet highlights potential challenges in the upgrade process. Nevertheless, ETH whales appear to maintain an optimistic outlook on the future of Ethereum.
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Challenges Encountered on Holesky Testnet, Developers Seek Solutions
The Ethereum development team successfully initiated the Pectra upgrade on the Holesky testnet at 16:55 Eastern Time yesterday, marking an important testing phase before the upgrade moves to the mainnet. However, despite the timely launch of the upgrade, the network has not yet completed its finalization since the commencement, and developers are actively investigating the root causes.
As a significant testing environment for Ethereum, the Holesky testnet aims to simulate real network conditions, allowing developers to address potential issues in a controlled setting. The Pectra upgrade was launched at epoch 115,968 on the Holesky testnet, symbolizing the official entry into the stress testing phase.
However, blockchain explorers show that slots have not yet reached the final confirmation state since the upgrade was initiated. The development team is currently conducting in-depth analyses to ensure smooth progress for future tests and mainnet upgrades.
(Note: In Ethereum blocks, an epoch represents a time range during which a set of validator activities occurs; one epoch consists of 32 slots, with each slot lasting 12 seconds. In other words, each epoch lasts approximately 6.4 minutes.)
Next Steps for the Pectra Upgrade: Entering the Sepolia Testnet
According to the plans of Ethereum developers, the next step for the Pectra upgrade will be initiated on the Sepolia testnet on March 5. However, if issues persist on the Holesky testnet, the development team may delay the Sepolia upgrade to ensure that technical problems can be resolved and more thorough testing can be conducted.
Assuming that both the Holesky and Sepolia tests successfully conclude, the Ethereum team will formulate a precise timeline for the mainnet upgrade, which may be launched as early as April.
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Significant Improvements Brought by the Pectra Upgrade
The Pectra upgrade aims to enhance Ethereum’s scalability, security, and usability, including the following key changes:
– EIP-7702: Improvement of user experience for cryptocurrency wallets and account abstraction.
– EIP-7251: Increase the maximum staking limit for validators from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH.
– EIP-7691: Double the maximum number of blobs to enhance Rollup scalability.
This upgrade follows the Cancun (Dencun) upgrade scheduled for March 2024, which significantly reduced transaction fees on L2 networks by introducing blob technology.
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Optimistic Market Outlook for ETH, Whales Continue Accumulating
In addition to the progress of the Pectra upgrade, the market also holds an optimistic view regarding the future of ETH. Ki Young Ju, founder of the data agency CryptoQuant, shared several bullish insights:
– Following the Bybit exchange hacking incident, the market did not experience significant selling pressure, and on-chain and market data remain neutral.
– Ethereum controls 56% of the stablecoin-based trading pairs market, and if U.S. President Trump eases cryptocurrency regulations, more enterprises are expected to use ETH-based stablecoins and smart contracts by 2025.
– The ETH spot ETF has been approved, and favorable regulations may trigger a “massive ETF altcoin season,” driving ETH prices up this year.
Additionally, data analyst Kate The Alt pointed out that whales continue to accumulate ETH, with wallets holding between 10,000 to 100,000 ETH increasing their balances by 24% over the past year, mainly from wallets holding less than 1K ETH:
Currently, the average cost basis for accumulating ETH addresses is approximately $2,199, while the current market price is $2,505, indicating that whales are still actively accumulating ETH.
The initiation of the Pectra upgrade on the Holesky testnet is a significant step in Ethereum’s development. Despite facing challenges at present, the influx of funds from on-chain whales, coupled with the approval and regulatory benefits of ETFs, reflects the market’s confidence in ETH.
In the coming months, whether Pectra can successfully launch on the mainnet and whether ETH can break free from “stablecoin” mockery will become focal points of market attention.
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