- Ethereum will stop supporting the Holesky testnet by September 2025 due to issues with validator exits and network stability.
- The new Hoodi test network will take over Pectra upgrade testing, with activation planned for March 26, 2025.
Ethereum will stop supporting the Holesky test network by September 2025. That marks a major shift in how Ethereum runs test networks. Holesky started in September 2023 and has been very useful for testing staking, building infrastructure, and developing the Ethereum system. But now, Ethereum developers are moving their attention to other test networks.
Shutting down test networks is normal. Ethereum has already done this with Kiln, Ropsten, Rinkeby, and Goerli, keeping the testing environment working properly. Holesky is being shut down because problems were found when testing the Pectra upgrade. These issues showed weaknesses in how validators exit and how stable the network is.
The Ethereum Foundation mentioned these challenges in a blog post on Tuesday. They said that the queue for validators leaving Holesky is stuck, and it will take almost a year for all validators to exit. Because of this, Holesky isn’t good for more Pectra testing. However, it will still be used for some stress tests until it fully shuts down.
Hoodi Testnet to Take Over Pectra Testing
Ethereum is preparing for a smooth transition to the Pectra upgrade, and for that, a new test network named Hoodi has been launched. This network is planned to activate Pectra on March 26, 2025, during epoch 2048 (about 7:37 UTC). Now, those who handle staking operations and maintain Ethereum infrastructure are advised to shift their validator testing to Hoodi.
Previously, when Ethereum developers tested Pectra on Holesky, major issues popped up. The execution clients—Geth, Nethermind, and Besu—were mistakenly configured with incorrect deposit contract addresses. Because of this misconfiguration, a bug was triggered in the execution layer, which led to chain splits and network instability.
Another Ethereum testnet, Sepolia, also ran into problems, but it recovered quickly because it used custom deposit contracts. On the other hand, Holesky struggled, mainly due to inactivity leaks, which made it even harder for validators to exit. These problems pushed Ethereum to seek a better alternative, leading to the introduction of Hoodi as a new testing environment.
Limited Use for Holesky Before Shutdown
Even though Holesky was supposed to be shut down, it will still be used for certain tests, like checking how much gas limits can be increased and pushing the system to its limits. Developers decided to keep it around for now as a main testing ground for core changes, letting them run more experiments before it eventually gets turned off.
Ethereum Foundation also shared updates about Sepolia. That test network will be swapped out in March 2026, and support for it will fully stop by September of that year. Meanwhile, Hoodi is planned to keep running until September 2028, making sure there’s a reliable testing space for the coming years.
