Ethereum Holesky Testnet Shuts Down as Hoodi Takes Over

The Ethereum Foundation has announced its migration to Hoodi due to technical problems. As part of this change, the Ethereum Holesky testnet has reached the end of its cycle after a successful 24-month run. This shutdown is expected two weeks after the upcoming Fusaka upgrade is finalized on the network.

Migration to Hoodi: Holesky Ends

In an official announcement , the Ether Foundation shared details about the blockchain's transition to Hoodi. The foundation stated that Holešky will stop operations two weeks after the Fusaka upgrade is implemented, which is tentatively scheduled for the second half of September.

In September 2023, the blockchain platform replaced its popular Goerli with the Ethereum Holesky testnet. The network claims that it offers a better testing environment designed to support staking, infrastructure upgrades, and new protocol developments.

"The network served its purpose, enabling thousands of validators to test protocol upgrades, including the Dencun network upgrade and most recently, Pectra,” said the foundation. However, after the Pectra upgrade in early 2025, the Ethereum Holesky testnet faced serious issues with inactivity leaks, leading to a large exit queue. This delayed validator exit process affected quality assurance efficiency and prompted the development of Hoodi in March 2025.

Once shut down, Holešky will lose support from key teams, including client, testing, and infrastructure. Given the anticipated November launch of Fusaka, the testnet's shutdown is likely imminent.

What’s Next?

The platform developed Hoodi to address the issues of the Ethereum Holesky testnet. Unlike Holesky's crowded exit queue, which complicates extensive testing, the new upgrade offers a fresh start for smoother testing of validator lifecycles.

With this migration, staking operators and client teams will rigorously test code changes introduced by Pectra. These changes include improvements to the user experience of crypto wallets, account abstraction via EIP-7702, increased validator stake limits from 32 to 2,048 ETH through EIP-7251, and better rollup scalability via EIP-7691.

Ahead of the shutdown, the foundation is streamlining its testnet structure into three main environments. The team advised developers working on smart contracts and dApps to use Sepolia and told staking operators and infrastructure teams to switch to the new platform.

Meanwhile, Ephemery will continue to offer a lightweight testing space with regular resets. This consolidation will help the blockchain better support developers and validators.