Hello, Hoodi: Ethereum Welcomes New Testnet

Hello, Hoodi: Ethereum Welcomes New Testnet

Ethereum's “Pectra” upgrade will be tested on Hoodi after failed attempts on other testnets Holesky and Sepolia.

Margot Nijkerk | Edited by Sam Kessler Updated March 17, 2025, 20:24 UTC Published March 17, 2025, 16:10 UTC

What you need to know:

• Ethereum developers have unveiled a new testnet, Hoodi, which will be used to test the upcoming blockchain upgrade “Pectra”.
• Hoodi was created after Pectra's failed tests on other Ethereum testnets such as Holesky and Sepolia, which failed to complete successfully due to issues with their setup.
• Testnets like Holesky, Sepolia, and Hoodi aim to replicate the Ethereum mainnet. They provide developers with the opportunity to test code changes or major upgrades like Pectra in a low-risk environment before they are deployed to the mainnet.

On Monday, Ethereum developers opened a new testnet, Hoodi, which will be used to implement the upcoming blockchain upgrade “Pectra”.

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According to statements from the network's leading developers, Pectra will launch on Hoodi on March 26, and if all goes well, the expected upgrade will move to the Ethereum mainnet in about a month.

Hoodi was created after previous tests of Pectra on other Ethereum testnets, Holesky and Sepolia, failed to complete correctly due to issues with their setup.

Testnets like Holesky, Sepolia, and Hoodi mimic the Ethereum mainnet, giving developers the opportunity to test code changes or major upgrades like Pectra in a low-risk environment before they are deployed to the mainnet.

The Pectra upgrade was originally planned to be activated on Ethereum after two previous tests. Since these did not go smoothly, the developers decided to create Hoodi to retest the ambitious Pectra upgrade, although this testnet will also be used for future experiments.

Hoodi is designed to mimic the Ethereum mainnet, with the same number of validators on the network. Paritosh Jayanti, an Ethereum core developer, noted at the Ethereum core developer meeting last week that Hoodi will be a testbed for Ethereum staking pools and node operators, allowing them to test their infrastructure.

Holesky and Sepolia were created with different goals in mind: Holesky has a larger set of validators than the Ethereum mainnet, which should facilitate scalability testing, while Sepolia is a closed network designed exclusively for developers to test applications.

Pectra includes a number of updates aimed at improving the usability and efficiency of Ethereum for both developers and end users. One of the most significant changes is the addition of “smart contract” features, which can provide wallets with new capabilities, such as the ability to pay gas fees in cryptocurrencies other than Ether (ETH).

Read more: Ethereum developers launch new testnet for Pectra upgrade after previous failures

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