Ethereum developers will end support for the Holesky testnet in September due to a large-scale validator exit following disruptions during Pectra upgrade testing.
As announced on the Ethereum Foundation blog, Holesky will remain available for developers to test deposits, consolidations, and other Pectra-related features until then. However, due to long exit queues, it is not recommended for validator exit testing. Instead, developers should use the newly introduced Hoodi testnet, which is set to implement the Pectra upgrade on March 26.
The decision to phase out support for Holesky follows significant issues encountered during Pectra upgrade testing, which triggered a large-scale validator exit. Although Holesky is currently operational, fully removing the exited validators will take approximately a year, making it unsuitable for testing scenarios that involve validator exits.
The discontinuation of Holesky is significant, as it has been a key testnet for Ethereum network upgrades since its launch in September 2023. Its official end of life is set for September 30. However, the testnet may still be repurposed for testing gas limit increases and other protocol-related experiments.
Before Holesky, Ethereum developers had already phased out several testnets, including Kiln, Rinkeby, Ropsten, and Goerli.