This was the first All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) Call of 2025, focusing on the latest updates for Ethereum’s execution layer. Key highlights included the launch of Pectra Devnet 5, progress on Pectra spec updates, and discussions on testnet upgrade schedules. Looking ahead, the Pectra upgrade is expected to improve network efficiency and gas handling, with optimism for a mainnet activation in March 2025. The Ethereum community remains engaged in refining infrastructure and testing strategies to ensure a smooth upgrade process.

Pectra Devnet 5 Launch

The Pectra Devnet 5 went live approximately 30 minutes before the call. EF DevOps Engineer Parithosh Jayanthi shared early feedback on its performance, reporting issues with gas estimation on certain configurations. Logs are being collected to analyze and address the issue, with findings to be shared on the Ethereum R&D Discord channel.

A major focus of the devnet is testing the Elektra, a key upgrade activated just 3 minutes before the call. The devnet provides a controlled environment for validating pending specs, enabling developers to troubleshoot and refine features before transitioning to public testnets. Developers can join the Pectra Devnet 5 and access tooling through the Pectra Devnet 5 Dashboard.

Source: explorer.pectra-devnet-5

Pectra Spec Updates

Core Developers reviewed critical updates to Pectra specs, focusing on ensuring clarity, consistency, and readiness for testnet and mainnet deployment:

  • EIP-7623: Clarifying Gas Refunds: This update resolved longstanding ambiguities around the calculation of execution_gas_used. Previously, there were two interpretations of whether refunds were applied before or after the calculation, leading to inconsistent behaviors. The updated spec ensures that execution_gas_used reflects the value after refunds are applied, simplifying gas computation logic and eliminating confusion. This update has been merged and included in Pectra Devnet 5 tests.

  • EIP-7840: Base Fee Adjustments: This update introduces a base fee fraction for blob scheduling in execution client configurations. There were no objections during the call, and developers agreed to merge the changes by the next Pectra testing call on January 20.

  • EIP-2537: Integer Division for G2 Operations: This update specifies integer division for the multiplication_cost parameter in BLS12-381 precompile operations. Developers confirmed that client implementations already align with this logic.

  • EIP-7702: EOA Transaction Enhancements: Julian Rachman from Otim Labs proposed enabling code introspection for externally owned accounts (EOAs) in EIP-7702. This feature allows contracts to inspect bytecode and adjust behavior dynamically, supporting use cases like gas sponsorship and relayers.

Pectra Testnet Timeline

Tim Beiko shared a tentative schedule for the upcoming testnet upgrades, outlining key milestones. By January 23 or 30, core devs plan to finalize block numbers for the Sepolia and Holesky forks, followed by updated client releases on February 3. The Sepolia fork is tentatively set for February 12, with the Holesky fork a week later on February 19. If the testnets validate successfully, the Pectra mainnet activation could occur in early to mid-March.

To streamline the process, developers opted against launching a new devnet for testing Pectra updates. Instead, shadow forks of Sepolia and Holesky will be employed to validate the changes. These shadow forks replicate mainnet-like conditions without requiring additional infrastructure, enabling realistic testing scenarios for the updates.

EF Protocol Security Researcher Fredrik Svantes announced the completion of third-party audits for Pectra system contracts. The audits reported no major issues, and the findings will be published on GitHub for review.

ACDE #203 highlighted significant progress toward the Pectra upgrade. The launch of Pectra Devnet 5 and decisions to leverage shadow forks for testing reflect a collaborative, efficient approach to Ethereum’s development. With a proposed schedule for testnet and mainnet upgrades in place, developers are on track to achieve a March 2025 activation for Pectra.

Readers can watch Ethereum's All Core Devs Meeting #203 here:

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