Key Takeaways:
- The Ethereum Foundation announced the planned Holesky Testnet Shutdown.
- The closure follows technical challenges, as well as the successful launch of the Hoodi testnet.
- Developers are encouraged to migrate to the Sepolia testnet for dApp testing and Hoodi for validator functionalities.
Table of Contents
A Phase Comes to an End
The Ethereum blockchain and its underlying infrastructure are going through a serious change with the announcement of its Holesky testnet shutdown. Holešky debuted in 2023 as Ethereum’s largest public testnet. It was designed to stress-test staking infrastructure and validator operations at scale, improving the whole system.
Holešky played an important part in supporting major upgrades like Dencun and Pectra. However, there were severe challenges with Holešky testnet, including critical validator inactivity leaks during Pectra upgrade activation that produced a huge exit queue, which made it impractical for useful testing.
The Holesky Purpose
The Holesky testnet shutdown is not a defeat, just a step forward. As mentioned before, the original Holešky testnet fulfilled its intended purpose, and by being limited, it allowed a stronger testnet successor to emerge. The Hoodi testnet, running since March 2025, was built to address the shortcomings of the old Holešky, provided a new validator set, and a stable testnet to test the future upgrades to the protocol, like the Fusaka hard fork.
Testnet Summary and Object
According to ethereum.org:
- Holesky: Validators and Staking providers (Expected end of life 30th September, 2025). Client developers will also use Holesky to test gas limit increases and other protocol stress tests.
- Sepolia: Application and tooling devs (Expected end of life 30th September, 2026)
- Hoodi: Validators and Staking providers (Expected end of life 30th September, 2028)
- Planned Sepolia replacement: Expected launch date of March 2026
Steps Forward
The Holesky testnet shutdown will take place two weeks after the completion of the Fusaka upgrade on Holešky, and then the Ethereum developer community will be directed to two main testing environments.
- Application and smart contract developers should use the Sepolia testnet.
- Staking operators and infrastructure providers should focus validator testing on Hoodi.
The idea is to streamline testing resources and offer more directed and stable support for different development purposes.
Summing Up
This anticipated sunset mirrors the evolving development lifecycle of Ethereum and further demonstrates the network’s commitment to an appropriate testing infrastructure with a balance of quality and efficiency for testing. This will provide an effective environment for all developers and validators to engineer and defend Ethereum’s future.
Final Thought: The Holesky testnet shutdown represents progress, not obsolescence, and is just another step forward in Ethereum’s unending pursuit towards a more scalable and robust network.
FAQs
Why is Holešky sunsetting?
It underwent some technical difficulties, including long validator exit queues, which rendered it inefficient for testing. Holešky has been replaced with the new effective Hoodi testnet.
What would developers use from this point forward?
Smart contract and dApp developers should use Sepolia testnet, and those testing validator operations should switch to Hoodi testnet.
What was Holešky used for?
The largest Ethereum testnet, Holesky, was prominently used to test large staking infrastructure trials and protocol upgrades such as Dencun and Pectra prior to launching live on mainnet.
For more Ethereum upgrade stories, read: Ethereum’s Fusaka Upgrade Unveils 2025 Blob Expansion Plan: 8x Throughput on Horizon
