The Ethereum Foundation has revealed that the Holešky test network is approaching its end-of-life. The planned shutdown is slated for two weeks following the completion of the Fusaka upgrade.
The Foundation indicates that official support from client developers, testing groups, and infrastructure providers will cease after the completion of the anticipated upgrade, expected in November.
Launched in 2023, Holešky was designed as Ethereum’s most ambitious public testnet. Its primary objective was to assess staking mechanisms and validator performance on a large scale, providing a platform where thousands of validators could experiment with upcoming changes.
Throughout its operational period, it fulfilled a vital function in validating network enhancements, from the Dencun upgrade to the more recent Pectra activation.
Despite its valuable contributions, Holešky exhibited certain shortcomings in early 2025 during the Pectra upgrade activation. The network experienced inactivity leaks, leading to a prolonged validator exit queue.
While Holešky eventually recovered and finalized blocks, the protracted exit process rendered simulations of complete validator lifecycles within reasonable timeframes impractical.
These limitations paved the way for Hoodi, a new test network introduced in March 2025, which offers a pristine validator set, compatibility with Pectra, and readiness for future upgrades like Fusaka.
Refining Ethereum’s Testnet Landscape
With Holešky nearing its decommissioning, the Ethereum Foundation communicated that the blockchain network’s testnet infrastructure will be streamlined, focusing on a trio of core test networks.
The Foundation suggests that developers working on smart contracts and decentralized apps should utilize Sepolia, which will continue to be the go-to environment for application and tooling development.
Staking operators and infrastructure teams are encouraged to shift their activities to Hoodi, which provides a more dependable setting for extended validation testing.
Additionally, Ephemery offers a lightweight environment for testing validator lifecycles through frequent resets.
The Foundation stated that consolidating resources across these key testnets will allow for more efficient support for both developers and validators involved in the Ethereum ecosystem.