Ethereum's core developers have decided to split the network's next major upgrade, Pectra, into at least two parts, with the first update set to be released around February 2025. This includes a proposal, EIP-7702, that would allow users to pay gas fees with other more versatile cryptocurrencies, rather than the current ETH gas fees on several other networks in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Another improvement is EIP-7251, which would allow Ethereum stakers to receive rewards for stakes exceeding 32 ETH. For example, a user who currently stakes 40 ETH cannot currently receive income or voting rights from an additional 8 ETH. This would significantly reduce bandwidth requirements for the entire Ethereum network.
Two other proposals included in the initial version of Pectra, EIP-6110 and EIP-7002, would also enable fully automated and permissionless ETH staking pools for the first time. The rest of Pectra may not be completed until 2026. (decrypt)