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Ethereum phases out its largest public testnet
Ethereum core teams have announced plans to decommission Holesky, the network's largest public testnet, following the rollout of the Fusaka upgrade. The shutdown will be executed roughly two weeks after Fusaka is finalized later this year, at which point client and infrastructure teams will stop maintaining the network.
Why Holesky is being retired
Holesky launched in 2023 as a large-scale staging ground to stress-test Ethereum's proof-of-stake validator infrastructure. For two years it acted as the go-to environment for validator clients, staking providers, and protocol teams to trial upgrades such as Dencun and Pectra before mainnet activation. But as the chain aged, Holesky began to experience operational issues. After the Pectra activation in early 2025, the network suffered inactivity leaks where large numbers of validators went offline, causing prolonged exit backlogs and months-long queues. Those delays made it difficult to test end-to-end validator lifecycle changes and reduced the network's utility for developers who need rapid feedback loops.
Fusaka aims to improve rollups and validator efficiency
Fusaka is designed to make Ethereum rollups cheaper and faster by redistributing data-storage work more evenly across validators. By optimizing how consensus participants handle rollup data, Fusaka should lower transaction costs and improve throughput for Layer 2 ecosystems. Once Fusaka is fully deployed, teams will move their testing focus to newer, more reliable testnets.
Where testing will move next
To replace Holesky's role, Ethereum has already launched Hoodi in March 2025. Built as a clean-slate testnet, Hoodi avoids Holesky's previous failure modes while continuing to serve validator and staking-provider testing needs. Sepolia remains the primary testnet for dapps and smart contract developers, while Ephemery provides a fast-reset environment with validator cycles resetting every 28 days to speed up iteration for client and infra teams.
Market context
Ether (ETH) traded near $4,380 in Asian morning hours on Tuesday, largely flat over the prior 24 hours. As the ecosystem transitions testnet traffic away from Holesky, developers and validators will likely shift resources to Hoodi, Sepolia, and Ephemery to validate upgrades and Layer 2 improvements ahead of future mainnet deployments.
For node operators, staking providers, and protocol engineers, the Holesky wind-down marks the end of an era and a move toward more scalable, resilient testnet infrastructure that supports Ethereum's rollup-centric roadmap.
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