Ethereum’s Holesky testnet achieved finality after a two-week disruption following the activation of the Pectra upgrade on Feb. 24, 2025.
Ethereum testnet network Holesky has regained finality nearly two weeks later after developers activated the Pectra upgrade on the platform. Following the activation of Pectra on Feb 24, 2025, the Holesky testnet faced major disruption while affecting the fine-turning of the upcoming upgrade.
The issue wasn’t related to Pectra itself but to a configuration bug which impacted the client software components. On March 10, Holesky achieved finality at Epoch 119090 around 3 p.m. ET, with over two-thirds of validators participating.
Finality guarantees that transactions are permanently confirmed and cannot be reversed, usually completing within two epochs (approximately 13 minutes).
Ethereum Holesky Finality Clears Path for Pectra Upgrade on Mainnet
Developers are now focusing on stabilizing nodes while pruning outdated states and fully restoring operations. This progress will enable developers to utilize the testnet for the upcoming Pectra mainnet upgrade.
In addition to Holesky, developers deployed Pectra on another Ethereum testnet, Sepolia. While Sepolia initially achieved finality, it later encountered issues with a custom deposit contract, leading to empty blocks.
Ethereum developer Marius Van Der Wijden revealed that the problem was caused by an attacker exploiting an edge case, where zero-token transfers were sent to the deposit contract, triggering the issue. Client teams collaborated to identify and resolve the bug.
The Ethereum Pectra upgrade will introduce several enhancements to the blockchain network such as account abstraction, support for gas payments in tokens other than ETH, and increased token limits.
Will ETH Price Recover After the Pectra Upgrade?
The Ethereum ETH $4 296 24h volatility: 0.3% Market cap: $518.67 B Vol. 24h: $33.20 B price has come under severe selling pressure, dropping an additional 10% in the last 24 hours, moving under the crucial support of $2,000. With this move, ETH’s year-to-date losses have extended to more than 41%.
Ethereum’s price is approaching critical levels, according to crypto analyst Ali Martinez. Based on the MVRV (Market Value to Realized Value) Pricing Bands, Ethereum’s Realized Price at $2,060 is under scrutiny.
Martinez cautions that a failure to maintain this support level could lead to a significant drop, with the next major support zone positioned around $1,440.
Amid the recent weak performance of ETH $4 296 24h volatility: 0.3% Market cap: $518.67 B Vol. 24h: $33.20 B , even whale entities have been dumping Ethereum over the past few weeks. Analysts are hopeful that the Pectra upgrade could serve as a catalyst for ETH price recovery ahead.
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