After two failed attempts, Ethereum (ETH) developers are strategizing to relaunch the Pectra upgrade, in a recent news update.
These developers have postponed the Pectra testing and introduced a new testnet, Hoodi.
If everything works according to the current plans, this upgrade could hit the mainnet early in the coming weeks.
Key Updates on Ethereum Hoodi Testnet
Ethereum developer ethPandaOps disclosed that Hoodi will launch as a new long-lived testnet, with a short-term focus on testing validator exits.
The network will have 1 million validators and be the new location for validator-related testing.
Developers aim to keep the network as stable as possible. They created the Hoodi testnet following complications with Pectra tests on Sepolia and Holesky, Ethereum’s primary test networks.
In both instances, configuration errors prevented proper testing of the Pectra upgrade.
In Holesky’s case, the network went offline for multiple weeks due to the flawed test issues.
These issues prevented the Pectra upgrade from finalizing as initially planned.
However, Sepolia and Holesky are now running Pectra successfully to serve different testing purposes.
Holesky, Sepolia, and Hoodi function almost identically to the main Ethereum network.
They are generally free to use and not intended to support real value.
Major upgrades like Pectra are typically implemented on Ethereum’s test networks before full deployment on the mainnet.
This is done to prevent any disruptions on the actual Ethereum network.
Developers plan to launch the Pectra upgrade approximately 30 days after the successful launch of Hoodi.
Thus, if everything goes as planned, Ethereum users can expect Pectra to reach the ecosystem’s main network in late April or early May.
Ethereum News: Latest Developers ACDC and Key Takeaways
In an X post, Christine Kim, Vice President of Galaxy Research, summarized the 152nd Ethereum Core Developer Consensus (ACDC) conference call.
The ACDC calls are a biweekly meeting series where developers discuss and coordinate changes to Ethereum’s Consensus Layer (CL), also known as the Beacon Chain.
According to Kim, developers agreed on a new strategy to test Pectra based on the progress of the Holesky and Sepolia upgrades.
As the developers confirmed, there will be continuous work to restore Holesky to a stable state, which is expected to take about three weeks.
In addition, developers will initiate the Holesky shadow fork, inheriting the same status and on-chain environment as the original public test network.
Ethereum Ecosystem Outlook Amid Pectra Upgrade Challenges
The technical setbacks in the Pectra upgrade coincide with a challenging period for Ethereum.
As observed in recent Ethereum news, the network has faced mounting pressure, from declining ETH prices to leadership transitions at the Ethereum Foundation.
Beyond this, Ethereum news reports it has a leverage problem that is threatening its DeFi margin ecosystem.
Tron Founder Justin Sun recently warned about this leverage, noting it has to be solved in order to prevent issues in the long term.
There is also a growing skepticism about the network’s ability to maintain market dominance amid competition from competitors like Solana (SOL).
Thus, industry figures view the successful implementation of Pectra as essential in restoring confidence in Ethereum’s technical roadmap.
The price of Ethereum is finding its balance despite the broader market instability.
As of this writing, ETH price was trading at $1,938, increasing by 5.05% in the last 24 hours. However, the trading volume is down by 30.7% to $12.58 Billion.
