Ethereum’s core developers have unveiled plans to discontinue support for the Holesky testnet by September 2025, marking the next step in the network’s ongoing testnet evolution.
The retirement of testnets is a customary practice within the Ethereum ecosystem. Previously, developers phased out Kiln, Ropsten, and Rinkeby in 2022, followed by Goerli in 2023.
Established in September 2023, Holesky has served as one of Ethereum’s two main testnets alongside Sepolia, playing a vital role in staking, infrastructure development, and protocol testing.
Holesky Testnet Faces Disruptions During Pectra Upgrade Testing
However, Holesky has recently experienced disruptions while undergoing tests for the Pectra upgrade.
Despite weeks of efforts to restore normal operations, the network continues to be hampered by a congested validator exit queue, limiting its capacity to support specific community testing scenarios.
According to an update from the Ethereum Foundation, it may take up to a year for validators to fully exit, rendering Pectra testing on Holesky impractical.
In response to these challenges, developers have initiated a new testnet named Hoodi, which is scheduled to implement the Pectra upgrade on March 26, ahead of its expected mainnet launch in the second quarter of 2025.
The Ethereum Foundation has recommended that staking operators and infrastructure providers transition to Hoodi for validator testing.
Hoodi & Chill On #InfiniteJungle EP 87, @christine_dkim elaborates on Ethereum developers’ rationale behind launching the Hoodi testnet as a successor to Holesky. This transition not only aids major staking pools and validator node operators in testing their infrastructure but also positions… pic.twitter.com/Cs0ICQbGoJ
— Galaxy (@galaxyhq) March 18, 2025
While Holesky is still operational, developers are contemplating repurposing it for internal stress tests, including gas limit experiments and protocol-level evaluations prior to its phased discontinuation next year.
Ethereum Exchange Supply Hits Record Low
Amid a recent market downturn, Ethereum has experienced a decline of approximately 30% over the past month, as reported by CoinMarketCap.
The cryptocurrency is currently trading around $1,940, remaining relatively unchanged over the last 24 hours.
A significant on-chain metric bolstering Ethereum’s long-term bullish outlook is its dwindling exchange supply.
At present, only 6.38% of Ethereum’s total supply resides on centralized exchanges, the lowest proportion recorded since the cryptocurrency’s launch.
This trend indicates that investors are moving ETH into cold storage, suggesting a preference to hold rather than liquidate their assets.
Last month, Ethereum also faced an unprecedented level of short selling, with futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) hitting a record of 11,341.
The rise in bearish positions, which increased over 40% in just a week and surged 500% since last November, reflects a growing pessimism regarding Ethereum’s short-term performance.
Simultaneously, transaction fees on the Ethereum network have plummeted to their lowest levels since late August, averaging just $0.41 per transfer.
This significant reduction stands in stark contrast to the $15.21 peak observed over the past two years, hinting at possible bullish sentiment for Ethereum’s long-term price trajectory.
Historically, low transaction fees on the Ethereum network are indicative of reduced congestion, suggesting that fewer users are competing to execute transactions. This trend can be viewed as a positive sign for the network’s potential long-term growth.
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