This week, Ethereum's core developers decided to split the network's next major upgrade, Pectra, into at least two parts, with the first update due around February 2025. At present, gas fees on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, and other second-layer networks must be paid in ETH regardless of the token being transferred. A proposal included in Part 1 of Pectra, EIP-7702, would effectively end this requirement, allowing users to pay gas fees in other, more versatile cryptocurrencies. Another improvement is EIP-7251, which will allow Ethereum stakers to be rewarded for staking more than 32 ETH. For example, a user who is currently staking 40 ETH cannot currently earn profits or gain voting rights from the additional 8 ETH. This will significantly reduce bandwidth requirements across the Ethereum network. Two other proposals included in the initial version of Pectra, EIP-6110 and EIP-7002, will also enable fully automated and permissionless ETH equity pools for the first time. The rest of Pectra may not be available until 2026.