Ethereum Confirms EIP 7742 Inclusion in Pectra Upgrade

Major Developments in the Ethereum Core Developers Execution Call

Recently, the 199th Ethereum Core Developers Execution (ACDE) call took place, summarized by Galaxy Research Vice President Christine Kim. One of the key highlights was the reaffirmation of the decision to incorporate EIP 7742 into the forthcoming Pectra upgrade.

EIP 7742 and Blob Capacity

The inclusion of EIP 7742 is vital as it serves as a prerequisite for enhancing blob capacity, which is essential for the growing needs of the Ethereum network. The developers also discussed potential enhancements post-Pectra upgrade, including the possibility of doubling the block gas limit within two years. This adjustment could be executed by modifying the default settings within client software, thus eliminating the need for a hard fork.

Pectra Devnet Updates

On October 18, 2024, the developers launched Pectra Devnet 4. EF Developer Operations Engineer Barnabas Busa reported challenges encountered by the Erigon, EthereumJS, and Grandine clients in this new development network. Following the launch, Pectra Devnet 3 was shut down, and Busa's team will continue testing on Devnet 4 clients over the coming weeks.

Specification Changes for Pectra

During the call, developers deliberated various specification changes to be included in Pectra Devnet 5. One significant adjustment discussed was the gas cost modifications for EIP 2537, which pertains to precompiles for BLS12-381 curve operations. Additionally, Geth developer Felix Lange introduced a specification update for EIP 7685, addressing a general execution layer request along with relevant changes to the engine API.

Consensus Among Developers

Most developers expressed support for these changes; however, Lange anticipated some resistance from the consensus layer client teams due to possible impacts on their EIP deployments. Developer Tim Beiko suggested that the favorable reception of these changes should warrant their addition to the Pectra Devnet 5 deployment schedule. Busa confirmed that these two EIPs are already included in the mandatory specifications for Pectra Devnet 5.

Adjustments and Recommendations

Regarding proposed changes to EIP 7702, Beiko recommended modifying proposals related to hardcoded return values. Once these amendments are finalized and reviewed, they are expected to be incorporated into the Pectra Devnet 5 specification list.

Future Plans and EIPs

The developers reaffirmed the decision made in last Thursday's ACDC call to include EIP 7742 in Pectra, specifically addressing the differentiation of blob counts between the client layer (CL) and execution layer (EL). Client team representatives, including those from EthereumJS, Lodestar, Prysm, Besu, and Nethermind, indicated they are preparing for the deployment of EIP 7742 in Pectra Devnet 5.

Updates on Additional EIPs

Updates were also shared concerning EIP 7790, which establishes guidelines for controlled gas limit increases, and EIP 7783, which proposes a new strategy for controlled gas target increases. Due to the absence of consensus surrounding EIP 7790, Beiko advised postponing the discourse and continuing discussions asynchronously in alternative forums.

Conclusion on Block Gas Limit Changes

Lastly, Beiko clarified that altering the block gas limit is beyond the purview of Ethereum protocol developers, rendering it a lower priority in their current agenda. As this upgrade process unfolds, the Ethereum community anticipates significant changes that could impact overall network performance and scalability.

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