Ethereum's Major Upgrade Pectra Faces Delays, EIP-7702 Under Discussion

According to Blockworks, the timeline for Ethereum's next significant upgrade, known as 'Pectra', remains uncertain, with projections ranging from November 2021 to early 2025. The first step towards establishing a timeline for Pectra is to finalize the specifications of all Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) to be included. Most of this work has been completed, but EIP-7702, titled 'Set EOA account code for one transaction', was identified as the primary outstanding specification issue during a recent All Core Developers (ACD) call. EIP-7702 allows an Externally Owned Account (EOA), such as a standard wallet like MetaMask, to temporarily function as a smart contract for a single transaction. This proposal aims to combine some functionalities of both EOAs and smart contracts for enhanced flexibility and security. For instance, it could enable gasless transactions, where a dapp sets an EOA to allow a third party to cover transaction fees. The proposal was put forward by Ethereum developers, including Vitalik Buterin, in early May and is set to replace an earlier contentious attempt to enable similar features. The upgrade is designed with a future based around account abstraction in mind, avoiding unnecessary complexities and ensuring forward compatibility with further user experience improvements. During the ACD call, developers discussed the integration challenges and potential risks associated with EIP-7702. Some developers voiced concerns over the complexity and potential for scope creep with EIP-7702, depending on which version was ultimately adopted. However, Safe co-founder Richard Meissner praised the simplicity of 7702, noting that it 'has no onchain impact, [so] you can deprecate it much easier.' The consensus was to resolve these issues by the next ACD call to ensure timely implementation for Devnet 2, the third of many small developer testnets. The next call is scheduled for July 4, with all American developers in attendance indicating that any Independence Day celebrations would not hinder Ethereum's progress.