Ethereum retires Holesky Testnet as Hoodi takes over

Ethereum is closing one chapter and opening another. The Ethereum Foundation has announced that the Holesky testnet will shut down soon as the network moves forward with its transition to the new Hoodi testnet. 

The decision follows a series of technical issues that affected Holesky earlier this year and led developers to create a more reliable replacement.

Holesky was launched in September 2023 to replace the widely used Goerli testnet. At the time, it was designed to be a large-scale testing environment for Ethereum’s staking features, validator processes, and new protocol upgrades. 

Over its two-year run, it became a key part of Ethereum’s development process. According to the Ethereum Foundation, the testnet helped thousands of validators test upgrades, including the Dencun upgrade and more recently, Pectra.

But despite its usefulness, the testnet began showing problems earlier this year. After the Pectra upgrade in early 2025, Holesky experienced what the foundation described as “inactivity leaks”. 

These leaks caused many validators to stop operating, and a large exit queue built up. This queue delayed the process of validators leaving the network, which hurt the overall efficiency of testing. Although Holesky later recovered, the damage had already been done.

To address these problems, Ethereum developers started working on a new testnet called Hoodi. Development began in March 2025, and the new platform has already gone live. 

Hoodi is designed to provide a clean environment for testing without the issues that affected Holesky. It also supports the latest Pectra upgrade and is ready to handle upcoming ones, including the next major upgrade named Fusaka.

The Ethereum Foundation confirmed that Holesky will shut down two weeks after the Fusaka upgrade is finalised. The Fusaka upgrade is expected to be completed in the second half of September. 

Once Holesky is shut down, it will no longer be supported by client, testing, or infrastructure teams. While no exact shutdown date has been announced, developers plan to launch Fusaka on Ethereum’s mainnet in November. That means the Holesky testnet will likely close down by early October.

Holesky was originally praised for its ability to handle large-scale testing, especially for staking infrastructure. But the exit queue and inactivity problems revealed its limitations. 

These issues made it difficult for developers to run proper quality checks. Hoodi, on the other hand, offers a fresh start with fewer complications. The Ethereum Foundation says the new platform will allow for smoother testing of validator behaviour and other network upgrades.

Hoodi becomes the new home for validator testing

One major focus for testing on Hoodi will be the features introduced by the Pectra upgrade. These include several important Ethereum Improvement Proposals, or EIPs. One of them is EIP-7702, which introduces account abstraction to improve how users interact with wallets. 

Another is EIP-7251, which increases the maximum amount of ETH a validator can stake from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH. There is also EIP-7691, which aims to improve scalability for rollups by making it easier for them to process transactions at lower costs.

To make the transition smoother, the Ethereum Foundation is reorganising its testnet structure. Developers working on smart contracts and decentralised applications are now being advised to use Sepolia. 

Meanwhile, infrastructure teams and staking operators are expected to shift to Hoodi. A third testnet, called Ephemery, will remain in use for light testing. It will continue to reset regularly and will serve developers who need a simple testing space.

The goal behind this reorganisation is to make it easier for developers and validators to know where to test their code. The Foundation believes this change will lead to better support and fewer technical issues in the future.

Looking ahead, the Fusaka upgrade is set to be Ethereum’s next major hard fork. Fusaka stands for “Fulu-Osaka” and is scheduled to go live on the mainnet in November. This upgrade focuses on improving how data is distributed across the network. 

By spreading the data availability workload more evenly among validators, Ethereum hopes to reduce costs and improve the performance of rollups, tools that help scale the network by processing transactions off-chain.

Fusaka will include 11 different Ethereum Improvement Proposals. These upgrades are part of a broader effort to make the network more efficient, scalable, and decentralised. 

By improving how data is handled, Fusaka could make it easier to run Ethereum nodes and reduce barriers to entry for validators and developers.

Further ahead, Ethereum developers are planning another major upgrade called Glamsterdam. This upgrade is expected to arrive sometime in 2026. One key proposal in this upgrade, EIP-7782, would reduce Ethereum’s block time from 12 seconds to just 6 seconds.

The change could allow transactions to be confirmed faster and create more room for using zero-knowledge proofs, a type of cryptographic technique that boosts privacy and efficiency.

According to the Ethereum Foundation, the idea behind EIP-7782 is to separate block validation from execution. This would give developers more time to generate zero-knowledge proofs without slowing down the network. 

The upgrade could be a significant step in Ethereum’s ongoing efforts to improve both speed and privacy.

ETH price cools, but on-chain strength remains

While these technical changes are underway, Ethereum is also seeing effects in the financial markets. In recent months, several publicly traded companies have started adding Ethereum ($ETH) to their balance sheets. 

This trend has helped fuel a strong rally in the price of ETH, which has gained more than 200% since April. However, after a strong performance in August, Ethereum’s price has cooled slightly at the start of September. 

As of now, ETH is trading at around $4,388, down roughly 1.4% in the past 24 hours. The recent dip comes after a 25% gain in August, and some traders believe the market is now entering a period of consolidation.

Analysts are closely watching the price range between $4,300 and $4,320. This area is seen as a key support zone, in other words, a floor that helps prevent prices from falling further.

If ETH breaks below this level on a daily basis, the next areas of support could be around $4,156 and $4,119. If selling pressure increases, the price could even drop back toward $4,000.

On the flip side, ETH faces resistance at higher levels. For the price to climb again, it must break above $4,530. That would open the door to higher targets at $4,800 and eventually $5,000. But this won’t be easy. 

Between $4,480 and $4,592, there are more than 1.9 million ETH held by traders. This creates a strong supply zone where many holders are likely to sell, making it hard for the price to move up quickly.

The Chaikin Money Flow indicator, which measures capital flows into and out of assets, has also dipped below zero. This suggests that large investors are currently not adding significant new money into Ethereum. Until that changes, ETH is likely to trade in a narrow range for the next few days.

Despite the recent price drop, Ethereum’s underlying activity remains strong. The number of active addresses and daily transactions has reached record levels. 

Even more impressively, gas fees, which are often a sore spot for Ethereum users, remain low. This shows that the network is handling demand more efficiently than it has in the past.

Another positive sign is that large investors, also known as whales, are still buying ETH during the dip. Recent data shows that whales have moved more than $430 million into Ethereum over the past few weeks. 

At the same time, retail investment remains weak. This suggests a split between long-term holders who are accumulating and short-term traders who are selling.

Interestingly, money is also moving from Bitcoin into Ethereum. This rotation from BTC to ETH is strengthening Ethereum’s position while weakening Bitcoin’s in the short term. 

Analysts note that whale buying near resistance levels often signals the beginning of a new rally. If Ethereum’s price can break past $4,530, a move toward $5,000 could come sooner than expected.

The shutdown of Holesky marks the end of an important phase in Ethereum’s development. But with the launch of Hoodi and a packed roadmap ahead, the network is clearly preparing for bigger and better things. 

As testing moves to new environments and major upgrades approach, Ethereum continues to evolve, both on the technical side and in the markets.