Ethereum is set to retire its largest testnet, Holešky, a significant development in the blockchain network’s evolution. Following the upcoming Fusaka upgrade scheduled for mid to late September 2025, the decommissioning of Holešky will occur just two weeks after the upgrade finalizes. This strategic move aims to transition Ethereum to a more modular and specialized testing framework, featuring Hoodi as its new validator-focused testnet that addresses many of the technical challenges faced by Holešky.
Since its launch in September 2023, Holešky served as a vital platform for testing scalability and various upgrades, effectively simulating real-world staking conditions on a large scale. It achieved remarkable participation, hosting over 1.6 million validators at its peak, a significant increase compared to prior testnets such as Goerli and Ropsten. Among the crucial upgrades tested on Holešky were Dencun, which focused on reducing transaction costs, and Pectra, aimed at enhancing validator performance.
However, despite its success, Holešky began to exhibit stress signs in early 2025, particularly following the Pectra upgrade. The network experienced a surge in inactivity leaks, leading to thousands of validators going offline and resulting in prolonged exit queues that hampered efficient testing. This infrastructure strain made it difficult to simulate dynamic network behavior and cope with Ethereum’s rapid development pace, ultimately designating Holešky as an operating bottleneck.
In response to these challenges, Ethereum introduced Hoodi in March 2025. This next-generation testnet seeks to resolve issues that plagued Holešky, featuring a refreshed validator set and built-in support for ongoing upgrades. Hoodi promises increased resilience for long-term staking simulations and has been constructed using a merged-from-genesis model, which allows for a more maintainable infrastructure.
Ethereum’s testing landscape has since streamlined into three specialized testnets tailored for specific functions: Sepolia for smart contract and dApp development, Hoodi for validator and staking infrastructure testing, and Ephemery for lightweight validator lifecycle testing. This segmentation is designed to enhance reliability and more accurately align testnets with developer needs.
The impending Fusaka upgrade, composed of 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), will bring significant enhancements, including improved data availability for rollups, more distributed validator loads, lower transaction latency, and better scalability. As indicated by the Ethereum Foundation, once Holešky ceases operations, it will no longer receive support from client, testing, or infrastructure teams.
The closure of Holešky symbolizes Ethereum’s broader strategy of evolution, reflecting a commitment to more streamlined and efficient testing protocols. Looking ahead, Ethereum is targeting the Glamsterdam upgrade in 2026, proposing to halve block times and enhance support for ZK-EVM systems, with the goal of further improving user experience and scalability, especially for layer-2 solutions.
Ethereum’s price has seen a recent uptick, trading at approximately $4,395, fueled by enthusiasm surrounding exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and increasing institutional investment. This shift in Ethereum’s infrastructure is perceived by the crypto community as a positive maturation signal, marking a transition towards more efficient and purpose-built systems as opposed to earlier, bulkier frameworks.
