Ethereum Developers Launch New Testnet for Pectra Upgrade Evaluation

According to CoinDesk, Ethereum's core developers have decided to introduce a new testnet named Hooli to finalize the testing of the upcoming Pectra upgrade. This decision follows two problematic tests on the Sepolia and Holesky networks. Tim Beiko, who coordinates the core developers at the Ethereum Foundation, announced that Hooli will go live on Monday, with Pectra being tested on Wednesday, March 26. The test will involve upgrading the test chain to the new version of Ethereum to assess its performance and stability. Pectra aims to enhance Ethereum by making it faster, more efficient, and user-friendly for both users and developers. A notable feature of this upgrade is the addition of "smart contract" functionality to addresses, enabling user wallets to be programmed with new capabilities, such as paying transaction fees in currencies other than ETH. If the Hooli test is successful, developers plan to launch the upgrade approximately 30 days later, pending further testing. This timeline suggests that Ethereum users could see Pectra implemented on the main network by late April or early May. The creation of the Hooli testnet was necessitated by configuration errors during previous tests on Sepolia and Holesky, which hindered proper evaluation of the Pectra upgrade. Holesky, in particular, experienced significant downtime due to these issues. Test networks like Holesky, Sepolia, and Hooli are designed to mimic the main Ethereum network but are generally free to use and not intended for real value transactions. Major upgrades such as Pectra are typically trialed on these test networks before being deployed on the mainnet to avoid costly disruptions. Beiko noted that Sepolia and Holesky, which are now running Pectra successfully, serve distinct testing purposes. He advised developers to use Hooli for testing validator exits, while other aspects can be tested on Sepolia and Holesky. The technical challenges faced by Pectra arise during a difficult period for Ethereum, which is dealing with declining ETH prices, leadership changes at the Ethereum Foundation, and increasing competition from newer blockchains like Solana. Industry experts believe that the successful implementation of Pectra is vital for restoring confidence in Ethereum's technical roadmap.