Ethereum has successfully launched its highly anticipated Pectra upgrade, which activated 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals on the mainnet. The upgrade process was completed at 10:05 UTC with finality achieved about 12 minutes later, overcoming challenges faced during testnet trials.

One significant change brought by the Pectra Hard Fork is the adjustment in the effective balance for validators from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH through EIP-7251. This modification enables larger staking providers to merge numerous nodes and reduce bandwidth costs significantly.

Additionally, the Pectra Upgrade introduced EIP-7702, allowing externally owned accounts to execute smart contract code temporarily. This new feature facilitates gas fee payments using stablecoins, subscription-style transfers, and native wallet recovery tools. Nine more EIPs focus on enhancing various aspects such as data availability, validator onboarding, and cryptographic efficiency.

The current trading value of ETH is around $1,840, indicating a nearly 3% increase in the last 24 hours as the market assesses the upgrade and anticipates the FOMC rate decision. Ethereum's development team is now gearing up for the upcoming "Fusaka" hard fork scheduled for the end of 2025, following the smooth execution of the Pectra upgrade.

Regarding the implications of the Pectra Upgrade on Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, experts from Bitfinex highlighted both opportunities and challenges. While the upgrade offers increased efficiency and cost reduction, it may concentrate validator power and reduce fee revenues for Layer 2 solutions. This shift could impact decentralization and incentives, prompting Layer 2 platforms to adapt through innovation and user-centric design.

In terms of technical changes, major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase temporarily paused certain services to ensure a seamless transition during the upgrade. Binance suspended deposits and withdrawals for 14 tokens to support the Ethereum network upgrade and hard fork. Similarly, Coinbase temporarily halted Ethereum deposits and withdrawals to safeguard user funds during the upgrade process. Trading activities on these platforms continued uninterrupted despite the temporary service interruptions.