Key Points
- Developers are progressing with the Plectra upgrade for the Ethereum network.
- Consideration is being given to adjusting Ethereum’s staking rewards to mitigate centralization risks.
Developers are persistently working on the Plectra upgrade for the Ethereum network.
The Ethereum network has been gaining attention due to the market recovery and the forthcoming Plectra update.
Developer Efforts
The 137th All Core Developers Consensus (ACDC) call concentrated on the progress of two testnets, Pectra Devnet 1 and PeerDAS Devnet 1.
The launch of Pectra Devnet 1 is imminent, with both Consensus Layer (CL) and Execution Layer (EL) clients ready.
The Ethereum Foundation DevOps team is conducting extensive testing of various client combinations to ensure compatibility and stability.
PeerDAS Devnet 1 is currently undergoing bug fixes before its planned relaunch.
Once the issues are resolved, the devnet is anticipated to be restarted by the end of the week.
Testnet Updates and Fork Choice Testing
The call also discussed fork choice testing research by the TxRX team at Consensys.
Their newly developed test generator aims to identify potential bugs and deviations in client software from CL specifications.
The successful launch of Pectra Devnet 1 is a significant step towards the Plectra upgrade, which is expected to introduce several improvements to the Ethereum network.
The ongoing development of the fork choice test generator is crucial for enhancing the reliability and security of the Ethereum ecosystem.
Staking Reward Changes
Ethereum is also considering adjusting its staking rewards to maintain a lower staking rate, potentially around 25% or 12.5%.
This change could have a substantial impact on the returns ETH holders receive from staking.
The Ethereum Foundation is exploring this option to address several concerns.
A lower staking rate is seen as a way to mitigate the risk of centralization, where a significant portion of ETH becomes concentrated in a few large staking pools.
This centralization could potentially threaten the network’s security and decentralization.
Additionally, a lower staking rate might reduce the likelihood of a mass slashing event leading to a chain split, a scenario where ETH holders might pressure the protocol to restore lost funds.
Ethereum’s Current Status
At press time, ETH was trading at $3,455.17 and its price had grown by 1.16% in the last 24 hours.
Despite the recent surge in price, the network growth for the Ethereum token had declined, suggesting that new addresses were slowly losing interest in the ETH token.
The velocity at which ETH was trading at had also fallen significantly, implying that the frequency at which ETH was trading at had also fallen.
If these trends continue, ETH’s chances of rallying further would diminish even further.
