March 2025 – Ethereum developers have taken a major step toward the next network upgrade with the official launch of the Hooli testnet, a critical testing environment for the upcoming Pectra hard fork. The Pectra upgrade, expected to go live on the Ethereum mainnet in mid-2025, aims to enhance the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), improve scalability, and introduce new staking features.

What Is the Pectra Upgrade?

Pectra is Ethereum’s next major hard fork, following the successful Dencun upgrade in early 2025. The upgrade focuses on:

• EVM efficiency improvements (reducing gas costs for complex transactions).

• Enhanced validator experience (streamlining staking operations).

• Layer 2 optimizations (faster finality for rollups).

• Smart contract upgrades (new opcodes for developers).

Key Features Being Tested on Hooli Testnet

1. EVM Object Format (EOF) Implementation

   • A major change to how smart contracts are stored and executed, reducing gas fees for deployment.

   • Expected to improve DeFi and NFT contract efficiency by up to 15%.

2. Staking Withdrawal Enhancements

   • Building on Dencun’s faster withdrawals, Pectra will allow partial unstaking without exiting the validator queue.

   • Reduces liquidity risks for institutional stakers.

3. Precompiled Contract Upgrades

   • New cryptographic precompiles for BLS signatures and Verkle tree proofs, improving zk-rollup compatibility.

4. Transaction Fee Market Adjustments

   • A revised EIP-1559 fee mechanism to prevent sudden gas spikes during high demand.

Why the Hooli Testnet Matters

• The Hooli testnet is the final public test environment before Pectra’s mainnet deployment.

• Developers, node operators, and dApp teams can now simulate the upgrade’s impact.

• Major projects like Uniswap, Aave, and Lido are already running compatibility tests.

Market and Developer Reactions

• ETH price showed a 3% increase following the Hooli launch, indicating bullish sentiment.

• Analysts predict Pectra could reduce average transaction costs by 20% once live.

• Vitalik Buterin called this upgrade “a stepping stone to full danksharding.”

What’s Next for Pectra?

• April 2025: Final testnet audits and bug bounties.

• June 2025: Expected mainnet activation if testing succeeds.

• Developers are also preparing for Verkle tree integration in late 2025.