Release notes

This release is a mandatory upgrade for all node operators of the Ethereum Mainnet.

Pectra upgrade

• The hard fork of the Ethereum Mainnet is scheduled on May 7, 2025 at 10:05:11 AM UTC (slot 11649024, epoch 364032)
• The hard fork of the Gnosis Chain is scheduled on April 30, 2025 at 14:03:40 UTC (slot 21405696, epoch 1337856)

Other changes

• [Shutter] Reduce getPayload timeout on empty block by @Marchhill in #8408
• [Optimism] Safely cast Optimism subtypes by @emlautarom1 in #8516
• [Optimism] Proper Transaction type for eth_* calls when running Optimism by @emlautarom1 in #8157
• [4444] Set ancient barriers for Sepolia post merge by @brbrr in #8469

Full Changelog: 1.31.8...1.31.9