diff --git a/benchmarks/tracing_trace.rb b/benchmarks/tracing_trace.rb
index 35d1ec8bfae..a34c39089de 100644
--- a/benchmarks/tracing_trace.rb
+++ b/benchmarks/tracing_trace.rb
@@ -78,13 +78,13 @@ def trace(x, depth)
     end
   end
 
-  def benchmark_to_digest
+  def benchmark_propagate!
     Datadog::Tracing.trace('op.name') do |span, trace|
       Benchmark.ips do |x|
         x.config(**benchmark_time)
 
-        x.report("trace.to_digest") do
-          trace.to_digest
+        x.report("trace.propagate!") do
+          trace.propagate!
         end
 
         x.save! "#{File.basename(__FILE__)}-results.json" unless VALIDATE_BENCHMARK_MODE
@@ -108,13 +108,13 @@ def benchmark_log_correlation
     end
   end
 
-  def benchmark_to_digest_continue
+  def benchmark_propagate_continue
     Datadog::Tracing.trace('op.name') do |span, trace|
       Benchmark.ips do |x|
         x.config(**benchmark_time)
 
-        x.report("trace.to_digest - Continue") do
-          digest = trace.to_digest
+        x.report("trace.propagate! - Continue") do
+          digest = trace.propagate!
           Datadog::Tracing.continue_trace!(digest)
         end
 
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ def benchmark_propagation_datadog
     end
 
     Datadog::Tracing.trace('op.name') do |span, trace|
-      injected_trace_digest = trace.to_digest
+      injected_trace_digest = trace.propagate!
       Benchmark.ips do |x|
         x.config(**benchmark_time)
 
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ def benchmark_propagation_trace_context
     end
 
     Datadog::Tracing.trace('op.name') do |span, trace|
-      injected_trace_digest = trace.to_digest
+      injected_trace_digest = trace.propagate!
       Benchmark.ips do |x|
         x.config(**benchmark_time)
 
@@ -190,9 +190,9 @@ def run_benchmark(&block)
 TracingTraceBenchmark.new.instance_exec do
   run_benchmark { benchmark_no_writer }
   run_benchmark { benchmark_no_network }
-  run_benchmark { benchmark_to_digest }
+  run_benchmark { benchmark_propagate! }
   run_benchmark { benchmark_log_correlation }
-  run_benchmark { benchmark_to_digest_continue }
+  run_benchmark { benchmark_propagate_continue }
   run_benchmark { benchmark_propagation_datadog }
   run_benchmark { benchmark_propagation_trace_context }
 end
diff --git a/docs/GettingStarted.md b/docs/GettingStarted.md
index 98cade51313..e5bc9ba9667 100644
--- a/docs/GettingStarted.md
+++ b/docs/GettingStarted.md
@@ -2418,7 +2418,7 @@ On the client:
 ```ruby
 Datadog::Tracing.trace('web.call') do |span, trace|
   # Inject trace headers into request headers (`env` must be a Hash)
-  Datadog::Tracing::Contrib::HTTP.inject(trace.to_digest, env)
+  Datadog::Tracing::Contrib::HTTP.inject(trace.propagate!, env)
 end
 ```
 
diff --git a/lib/datadog/opentelemetry/trace.rb b/lib/datadog/opentelemetry/trace.rb
index e05dd6cb176..32f12d5e470 100644
--- a/lib/datadog/opentelemetry/trace.rb
+++ b/lib/datadog/opentelemetry/trace.rb
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ def start_trace_copy(trace, parent_span: nil)
           digest = if parent_span
                      digest_with_parent_span(trace, parent_span)
                    else
-                     trace.to_digest
+                     trace.to_digest_without_propagate
                    end
 
           # Create a new TraceOperation, attached to the current Datadog Tracer.
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ def start_trace_copy(trace, parent_span: nil)
         # This supports the implementation of `OpenTelemetry::Trace.context_with_span`,
         # which allows you to specific any span as the arbitrary parent of a new span.
         def digest_with_parent_span(trace, parent_span)
-          digest = trace.to_digest
+          # sampling_priority added here right upon otel span creation
+          digest = trace.to_digest_without_propagate
 
           Tracing::TraceDigest.new(
             span_id: parent_span.id,
diff --git a/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/concurrent_ruby/context_composite_executor_service.rb b/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/concurrent_ruby/context_composite_executor_service.rb
index e80baca6cf0..5ab6c126d70 100644
--- a/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/concurrent_ruby/context_composite_executor_service.rb
+++ b/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/concurrent_ruby/context_composite_executor_service.rb
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ def initialize(composited_executor)
           # post method runs the task within composited executor - in a different thread. The original arguments are
           # captured to be propagated to the composited executor post method
           def post(*args, &task)
-            digest = Tracing.active_trace && Tracing.active_trace.to_digest
+            digest = Tracing.active_trace && Tracing.active_trace.propagate!
             executor = @composited_executor.is_a?(Symbol) ? Concurrent.executor(@composited_executor) : @composited_executor
 
             # Pass the original arguments to the composited executor, which
diff --git a/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/ethon/multi_patch.rb b/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/ethon/multi_patch.rb
index b8541155a35..e4456d521cb 100644
--- a/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/ethon/multi_patch.rb
+++ b/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/ethon/multi_patch.rb
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ def datadog_multi_span
                 Ext::SPAN_MULTI_REQUEST,
                 service: datadog_configuration[:service_name]
               )
-              @datadog_multi_trace_digest = Tracing.active_trace.to_digest
+              @datadog_multi_trace_digest = Tracing.active_trace.propagate!
 
               @datadog_multi_span.set_tag(Tracing::Metadata::Ext::TAG_COMPONENT, Ext::TAG_COMPONENT)
               @datadog_multi_span.set_tag(Tracing::Metadata::Ext::TAG_OPERATION, Ext::TAG_OPERATION_MULTI_REQUEST)
diff --git a/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/propagation/sql_comment.rb b/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/propagation/sql_comment.rb
index 62765f026ec..c68f319ba12 100644
--- a/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/propagation/sql_comment.rb
+++ b/lib/datadog/tracing/contrib/propagation/sql_comment.rb
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def self.prepend_comment(sql, span_op, trace_op, mode)
               # When tracing is disabled, trace_operation is a dummy object that does not contain data to build traceparent
               if config.tracing.enabled
                 tags[Ext::KEY_TRACEPARENT] =
-                  Tracing::Distributed::TraceContext.new(fetcher: nil).send(:build_traceparent, trace_op.to_digest)
+                  Tracing::Distributed::TraceContext.new(fetcher: nil).send(:build_traceparent, trace_op.propagate!)
               else
                 Datadog.logger.warn(
                   'Sql comment propagation with `full` mode is aborted, because tracing is disabled. '\
diff --git a/lib/datadog/tracing/distributed/propagation.rb b/lib/datadog/tracing/distributed/propagation.rb
index 9ad8b63ee35..cf1e4183745 100644
--- a/lib/datadog/tracing/distributed/propagation.rb
+++ b/lib/datadog/tracing/distributed/propagation.rb
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def inject!(digest, data)
             return nil
           end
 
-          digest = digest.to_digest if digest.respond_to?(:to_digest)
+          digest = digest.propagate! if digest.respond_to?(:propagate!)
 
           if digest.trace_id.nil?
             ::Datadog.logger.debug('Cannot inject distributed trace data: digest.trace_id is nil.')
diff --git a/lib/datadog/tracing/trace_operation.rb b/lib/datadog/tracing/trace_operation.rb
index 7c1d4fa55a7..bc5dd1db837 100644
--- a/lib/datadog/tracing/trace_operation.rb
+++ b/lib/datadog/tracing/trace_operation.rb
@@ -301,11 +301,42 @@ def flush!
         build_trace(spans, !finished)
       end
 
+      # DEV-3.0: Sampling is a side effect of generating the digest in to_digest. With 3.0 we should remove the side effect
+      # and push users to use propagate! instead of to_digest. With that we can remove this method.
+      def to_digest_no_propagation
+        span_id = @active_span && @active_span.id
+        span_id ||= @parent_span_id unless finished?
+        TraceDigest.new(
+          span_id: span_id,
+          span_name: (@active_span && @active_span.name),
+          span_resource: (@active_span && @active_span.resource),
+          span_service: (@active_span && @active_span.service),
+          span_type: (@active_span && @active_span.type),
+          trace_distributed_tags: distributed_tags,
+          trace_hostname: @hostname,
+          trace_id: @id,
+          trace_name: name,
+          trace_origin: @origin,
+          trace_process_id: Core::Environment::Identity.pid,
+          trace_resource: resource,
+          trace_runtime_id: Core::Environment::Identity.id,
+          trace_sampling_priority: @sampling_priority,
+          trace_service: service,
+          trace_state: @trace_state,
+          trace_state_unknown_fields: @trace_state_unknown_fields,
+          span_remote: (@remote_parent && @active_span.nil?),
+        ).freeze
+      end
+
+      def propagate!
+        to_digest
+      end
+
       # Returns a set of trace headers used for continuing traces.
       # Used for propagation across execution contexts.
       # Data should reflect the active state of the trace.
-      # DEV-3.0: Sampling is a side effect of generating the digest.
-      # We should move the sample call to inject and right before moving to new contexts(threads, forking etc.)
+      # DEV-3.0: Sampling is a side effect of generating the digest in to_digest.
+      # With 3.0 we should remove the side effect and push users to use propagate! instead of to_digest.
       def to_digest
         # Resolve current span ID
         span_id = @active_span && @active_span.id
@@ -523,7 +554,7 @@ def build_trace(spans, partial = false)
       end
 
       # Returns tracer tags that will be propagated if this span's context
-      # is exported through {.to_digest}.
+      # is exported through {.propagate!}.
       # @return [Hash] key value pairs of distributed tags
       def distributed_tags
         meta.select { |name, _| name.start_with?(Metadata::Ext::Distributed::TAGS_PREFIX) }
diff --git a/sig/datadog/tracing/trace_operation.rbs b/sig/datadog/tracing/trace_operation.rbs
index e434c9872d6..85245e75954 100644
--- a/sig/datadog/tracing/trace_operation.rbs
+++ b/sig/datadog/tracing/trace_operation.rbs
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ module Datadog
       def build_span: (untyped op_name, ?events: untyped?, ?on_error: untyped?, ?resource: untyped?, ?service: untyped?, ?start_time: untyped?, ?tags: untyped?, ?type: untyped?) -> untyped
       def flush!: () { (untyped) -> untyped } -> untyped
       def to_digest: () -> untyped
+      def propagate!: () -> untyped
+      def to_digest_without_propagate: () -> untyped
       def fork_clone: () -> untyped
 
       class Events
diff --git a/spec/datadog/tracing/contrib/propagation/sql_comment_spec.rb b/spec/datadog/tracing/contrib/propagation/sql_comment_spec.rb
index 9217b684fa2..91bf84721d9 100644
--- a/spec/datadog/tracing/contrib/propagation/sql_comment_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/datadog/tracing/contrib/propagation/sql_comment_spec.rb
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
       end
       let(:trace_op) do
         double(
-          to_digest: Datadog::Tracing::TraceDigest.new(
+          propagate!: Datadog::Tracing::TraceDigest.new(
             trace_id: 0xC0FFEE,
             span_id: 0xBEE,
             trace_flags: 0xFE
diff --git a/spec/datadog/tracing/contrib/sql_comment_propagation_examples.rb b/spec/datadog/tracing/contrib/sql_comment_propagation_examples.rb
index 0c401a74648..70da8f41357 100644
--- a/spec/datadog/tracing/contrib/sql_comment_propagation_examples.rb
+++ b/spec/datadog/tracing/contrib/sql_comment_propagation_examples.rb
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
     expect(Datadog::Tracing::Contrib::Propagation::SqlComment).to have_received(:prepend_comment).with(
       sql_statement,
       a_span_operation_with(service: service_name),
-      duck_type(:to_digest),
+      duck_type(:propagate!),
       propagation_mode
     )
   end
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@
       expect(Datadog::Tracing::Contrib::Propagation::SqlComment).to have_received(:prepend_comment).with(
         sql_statement,
         a_span_operation_with(service: service_name),
-        duck_type(:to_digest),
+        duck_type(:propagate!),
         propagation_mode
       )
     end
diff --git a/spec/datadog/tracing/trace_operation_spec.rb b/spec/datadog/tracing/trace_operation_spec.rb
index 4977ef7cdd0..a4ba92226e3 100644
--- a/spec/datadog/tracing/trace_operation_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/datadog/tracing/trace_operation_spec.rb
@@ -136,6 +136,22 @@
     end
 
     context 'given' do
+      context ':trace_operation_triggers_trace_propagated_event' do
+        let(:events) { instance_double('Events') }
+        let(:trace_propagated) { instance_double('TracePropagated') }
+        let(:trace_op) { described_class.new(events: events) }
+        before do
+          allow(events).to receive(:trace_propagated).and_return(trace_propagated)
+          allow(trace_propagated).to receive(:publish)
+        end
+        describe '#propagate!' do
+          it 'calls events.trace_propagated.publish with self' do
+            expect(trace_propagated).to receive(:publish).with(trace_op)
+            trace_op.to_digest
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
       context ':agent_sample_rate' do
         subject(:options) { { agent_sample_rate: agent_sample_rate } }
         let(:agent_sample_rate) { 0.5 }
diff --git a/spec/datadog/tracing/tracer_integration_spec.rb b/spec/datadog/tracing/tracer_integration_spec.rb
index e7f1f3b0462..c4a3e2a3670 100644
--- a/spec/datadog/tracing/tracer_integration_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/datadog/tracing/tracer_integration_spec.rb
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ def lang_tag(span)
 
           workers = nil
           tracer.trace('start_inserts', resource: 'inventory') do
-            trace_digest = trace.to_digest
+            trace_digest = trace.propagate!
 
             workers = Array.new(5) do |index|
               Thread.new do
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ def lang_tag(span)
   describe 'distributed trace' do
     let(:extract) { Datadog::Tracing::Contrib::HTTP.extract(rack_headers) }
     let(:trace) { Datadog::Tracing.continue_trace!(extract) }
-    let(:inject) { {}.tap { |env| Datadog::Tracing::Contrib::HTTP.inject(trace.to_digest, env) } }
+    let(:inject) { {}.tap { |env| Datadog::Tracing::Contrib::HTTP.inject(trace.propagate!, env) } }
 
     let(:rack_headers) { headers.map { |k, v| [RackSupport.header_to_rack(k), v] }.to_h }
 
diff --git a/spec/datadog/tracing/tracer_spec.rb b/spec/datadog/tracing/tracer_spec.rb
index 945b3884e25..8d42cac80d8 100644
--- a/spec/datadog/tracing/tracer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/datadog/tracing/tracer_spec.rb
@@ -893,7 +893,7 @@
             trace_state_unknown_fields: 'any;field',
           )
           expect(digest.span_remote).to be true
-          expect(trace.to_digest.span_remote).to be false
+          expect(trace.propagate!.span_remote).to be false
 
           expect(trace.send(:distributed_tags)).to eq('_dd.p.test' => 'value')