Ethereum Foundation initiates Holešky network shutdown after completing Fusaka upgrade

Holešky, launched in 2023 for validator and upgrade testing, will be phased out as Ethereum transitions to Hoodi and Sepolia for future development.

Key Takeaways

• The Ethereum Foundation is decommissioning Holešky after completing the Fusaka upgrade.
• Holešky enabled the testing of PeerDAS and partial data verification, reducing bandwidth requirements for validators and benefiting L2 networks.

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The Ethereum Foundation has begun winding down Holešky, an Ethereum testnet launched in 2023 for large-scale validator and upgrade testing.

In a post on X, the Foundation confirmed that Holešky will undergo planned node shutdowns two weeks after the Fusaka upgrade finalizes. Operators are advised to migrate testing to Hoodi and Sepolia, which now serve as Ethereum’s primary testnets for staking and application development.

Holešky hosted major upgrade trials, including Dencun, Pectra, and most recently Fusaka—a network upgrade introducing PeerDAS to reduce bandwidth use for validators and improve scalability for layer-2s.

Following Fusaka’s completion, the testnet reached its planned end-of-life and will no longer receive client or infrastructure support. Its successor, Hoodi, launched in March 2025, provides a fresh validator environment, while Sepolia remains the preferred network for developers.

Holešky’s sunset marks Ethereum’s shift toward purpose-built, shorter-lived testnets that serve specific upgrade milestones before decommissioning.

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