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Create an account to save your articles.Create an account to save your articles.Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENEEthereum's Pectra upgrade hit an unexpected roadblock Monday when it failed to finalize on the Holesky testnet, revealing potential issues that could delay the blockchain's most significant update in nearly a year.The test was activated Monday afternoon at 4:55 ET but failed to achieve finality, according to data from Beacon Chain, an open-source blockchain explorer. The transactions are potentially irreversible—a critical flaw for a network built on immutability.The Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the development and growth of the Ethereum ecosystem, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In Ethereum, finality ensures transactions become irreversible after approximately 13 minutes (equal to two "epochs"). Transactions become "final" when at least two out of three validators agree they're confirmed, making reversals nearly impossible.To reverse a finalized transaction, attackers would need to control at least a third of all staked ETH—but the smart contract would automatically burn their stake if they tried, making it too risky to attempt."Holesky and other testnets exist to find issues," Georgios Konstantopoulos, general partner and chief technology officer at crypto investment firm Paradigm, said on X.Konstantopoulos noted that the bug was isolated to execution clients that had issues where "they forgot to add the correct deposit contract address."Pectra represents a package of 11 crucial protocol improvements, headlined by EIP-7702, a wallet enhancement proposal drafted by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.That effectively allows wallets to temporarily act as smart contracts during transactions, enabling features like batch operations and gas fee sponsorships without permanent changes to accounts.The technical hiccup comes amid growing pressure on Ethereum to accelerate its development cycle, all while Ethereum core developers disagree on what features to load up for Pectra.Last month, Paradigm said that Ethereum's core protocol could be improving much faster."Historically, Ethereum has shipped about one change per year. Ethereum can do more," Konstantopoulos wrote alongside other Paradigm researchers.This tension between careful testing and faster shipping surfaces as the stakes for Ethereum continue rising.Institutional players particularly await EIP-7251, which would increase validator staking limits from 32 to 2,048 ETH, potentially transforming how its economy moves.Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade is already live on Ephemery, a testnet of the blockchain network, in preparation for an April mainnet launch.On Feb. 13, Tim Beiko, Ethereum Foundation Protocol Support Lead, wrote:“Ephemery now supports Pectra!”This confirms a statement from Christine Kim, a Galaxy Digital researcher who revealed on X that Ethereum clients have focused on scheduling key testnet forks to ensure a smooth transition to Pectra.She stated:“All client teams said today they are on track to put out final testnet releases in the next 24 hours.”According to her, the Holesky testnet fork is scheduled for Feb. 24, while Sepolia will follow on March 5. These test deployments serve as critical trial runs, allowing developers to identify and address issues before the mainnet activation.Barring major setbacks, Pectra’s mainnet deployment is expected approximately 30 days after the Sepolia fork.Kim noted that developers will finalize the mainnet upgrade date and timestamp only after Pectra is live on Sepolia. If successful, the Pectra upgrade would most likely occur in April.Faster network upgradesMeanwhile, Nixo Rokish from the Ethereum Foundation’s protocol support team noted that Ethereum’s core developers advocated for a more frequent upgrade cycle to improve the network’s adaptability.Nixo said:“Pretty strong consensus from the Pectra Retrospective post that the people want faster fork cadences… that’s going to mean less dilly-dallying about scope and more aggressively presented opinions.”This aligns with the views of industry leaders like Paradigm, who have emphasized that Ethereum has the resources and talent needed to implement upgrades faster. The venture capital firm wrote:“Ethereum has the resources it needs — incredible researchers and engineers eager to build the future

Irreducible (formerly Ulvetanna), a zero-knowledge proof (ZKPs) infrastrucure startup, has raised $24 million in a Series A round.