On September 21st, Ethereum's core developers decided to split the network's next major upgrade, Pectra, into at least two parts. The first update is scheduled for release around February 2025.

Currently, regardless of what token is being transferred, gas fees on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism and other Layer 2 networks must be paid in ETH. A proposal included in the first part of Pectra, EIP-7702, will effectively end this requirement, allowing users to pay gas fees with other, more widely used cryptocurrencies.

Another improvement is EIP-7251, which will allow Ethereum stakers to receive rewards for portions of their stake above 32 ETH. For example, users currently staking 40 ETH are unable to earn rewards or gain voting rights on the additional 8 ETH. This will significantly reduce the bandwidth requirements of the entire Ethereum network.

Two further proposals included in the initial release of Pectra, EIP-6110 and EIP-7002, will also realize fully automated and permissionless ETH staking pools for the first time. The remainder of Pectra may not be implemented until 2026.