Ethereum is gearing up for a major upgrade that could allow users to pay fees in ERC-20 tokens like Shiba Inu (SHIB).
This will be made possible through the upcoming Pectra hard fork, a significant upgrade that combines 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) into a single package.
Pectra’s Account Abstraction Feature
Scheduled for March 2025, Pectra is expected to usher in significant improvements to staking efficiency, wallet usability, and scalability.
At the core of the upgrade is the account abstraction feature, which aims to improve wallet usability by making them more intuitive. With this feature, Ethereum users can pay for gas fees using alternative ERC-20 tokens, specifically stablecoins, rather than being restricted to the network’s native token, ETH.
Shiba Inu as Gas Fees on Ethereum?
This initiative initially supports ERC-20 stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC) and Dai (DAI). Interestingly, speculation suggests that the Ethereum development team could support other ERC-20 tokens, including Shiba Inu ecosystem tokens like SHIB, BONE, and TREAT.
If this happens, Ethereum users can pay gas fees using Shiba Inu for token transfers, NFT trading, and decentralized application (dApp) usage transactions.
It is worth mentioning that besides stablecoins, the Ethereum development team has not confirmed plans to support other ERC-20 tokens for gas fee payments.
Last year, Shiba Inu’s marketing lead Lucie emphasized that Ethereum users cannot pay gas fees with SHIB, citing technical and compatibility reasons.
However, the upcoming launch of Pectra and the account abstraction feature creates an opportunity for Ethereum users to pay transaction costs in SHIB, BONE, and TREAT.
Account Abstraction Explained Simply
Right now, Ethereum users must hold a small amount of ETH in their wallets to pay for gas fees. These fees cover transaction costs for actions like sending tokens, trading NFTs, or using DApps.
With the Pectra upgrade, Ethereum introduces…
— Shibarium Updates 📢 (@Shibizens) February 27, 2025
Besides account abstraction, Pectra is expected to introduce other notable upgrades, such as raising Ethereum validators’ staking limit from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH.
It will also enhance smart contract functionality, optimize storage and validation, and make Layer-2 rollups like Shibarium more competitive.
Status of Pectra Hard Fork
Meanwhile, the Pectra hard fork is gearing up for its highly anticipated launch. Ethereum’s development team rolled out the upgrade on the Holesky testnet this week, on February 24. However, the upgrade failed to finalize as expected, marking a rare occurrence for the network.
In a follow-up statement, the Ethereum development team revealed that Pectra’s finality issue on Holesky was severe but manageable. Despite this, the team is pushing forward with the upgrade, with Pectra’s next testnet on Sepolia expected to launch on its scheduled date, March 5.
Sources suggest that Pectra might launch on the Ethereum mainnet in early April 2025 if the upgrade encounters no significant glitches.