According to Alice und Bob (@alice_und_bob), Ethereum is rolling out its Pectra upgrade today, introducing significant trading-focused enhancements such as smarter wallets with batch calls, the ability to pay gas fees with USDC, and passkey-based signing. The upgrade doubles available blobspace, removes the validator ETH limit, and incorporates multiple optimizations, all of which improve network efficiency and scalability (source: Alice und Bob on Twitter, May 7, 2025). These features are expected to lower transaction costs and increase on-chain activity, potentially boosting ETH price volatility and liquidity. The focus on stablecoin gas payments and improved wallet usability could attract new retail and institutional traders, impacting both Ethereum and related altcoins. Polkadot is noted as lacking only simplified passkey access, highlighting competitive dynamics in the smart contract platform space.