2-9-2025 – The Ethereum Foundation announced the planned shutdown of its largest testnet, Holešky, to be replaced by the Hoodi testnet after the Fusaka upgrade, expected in late September. The transition follows technical challenges earlier this year, including “extensive inactivity leaks” that disrupted validator operations. Launched in September 2023, Holešky played a critical role in testing Ethereum’s staking infrastructure and protocol upgrades like Dencun and Pectra.
However, persistent issues in early 2025 prompted the foundation to introduce Hoodi in March as a more stable testing environment. Hoodi already supports the Pectra update and is set to handle the upcoming Fusaka fork, which aims to enhance layer-2 scalability by optimizing data availability for rollups. The foundation has advised developers to shift smart contract and dApp testing to the Sepolia testnet in the interim. The move underscores Ethereum’s focus on refining its network layers, with user experience highlighted as a key priority for the next 12 months.
The Fusaka upgrade, slated for mainnet activation in November, will include 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals to streamline node operations and boost decentralization. Looking further ahead, the Glamsterdam upgrade in 2026 is expected to halve block times to six seconds, potentially accelerating transaction processing.Ethereum’s ongoing improvements are resonating in the market, with ETH rallying over 200% since April, partly driven by corporate adoption of Ether treasuries. The foundation is now focused on migrating Holešky’s staking operators and infrastructure to Hoodi to ensure a seamless transition for future protocol testing. Developers and stakeholders should monitor the Fusaka upgrade timeline for updates on Hoodi’s full integration.
