Hello, Hoodi: Ethereum Welcomes a New Testnet
Ethereum's 'Pectra' upgrade will be tested on Hoodi following buggy attempts on other testnets, Holesky and Sepolia.

What to know:
- Ethereum developers launched a new test network, Hoodi, that will be used to test the blockchain's upcoming 'Pectra' upgrade.
- Hoodi was created following faulty Pectra tests on Ethereum’s other testnets, Holesky and Sepolia, which failed to finalize properly due to problems with how they were configured.
- Test networks like Holesky, Sepolia, and Hoodi aim to mimic the main Ethereum network. They give developers the opportunity to test out code changes or major upgrades like Pectra in a low-stakes environment before deploying them to the mainnet.
Ethereum developers launched a new test network, Hoodi, on Monday that will be used to carry out the blockchain's upcoming 'Pectra' upgrade.
Pectra will go live on Hoodi on March 26, and if all goes well, the long-awaited upgrade will proceed to Etheruem's mainnet roughly 30 days later, according to the network's core developers.
Hoodi was created following faulty Pectra tests on Ethereum’s other testnets, Holesky and Sepolia, which failed to finalize properly due to problems with how they were configured.
Test networks like Holesky, Sepolia, and Hoodi aim to mimic the main Ethereum network — allowing developers the opportunity to test out code changes or major upgrades like Pectra in a low-stakes environment before deploying them to the mainnet.
Originally, the Pectra upgrade would have been activated on Ethereum following those two earlier tests. Because they didn't go smoothly, developers decided to build Hoodi to test the ambitious Pectra upgrade one more time, although the testnet can also be used for future tests.
Hoodi is designed to mimic Ethereum’s mainnet, with the same number of validators on its network. Ethereum core developer Parithosh Jayanthi argued during last week’s Ethereum core developers call that Hoodi would therefore be the testnet for Ethereum staking pools and node operators to test their infrastructure.
Holesky and Sepolia were built for different purposes: Holesky has a bigger validator set than Ethereum’s mainnet, which is supposed to help test out scalability problems, while Sepolia is a closed network just for developers, meant for testing out applications.
Pectra contains a series of upgrades designed to make Ethereum more user-friendly and efficient for developers and end-users. One of the biggest changes includes adding "smart contract" capabilities that could give wallets new features, like the ability to pay gas fees in cryptocurrencies other than ether
Read more: Ethereum Developers Launch New Testnet for Pectra Upgrade After Earlier Setbacks
More For You
Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture

Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.
What to know:
Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.
The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.
More For You
Bitcoin's Quantum threat is ‘real but distant,’ says Wall Street analyst as doomsday debate rages on

Wall Street broker Benchmark argued the crypto network has ample time to evolve as quantum risks shift from theory to risk management.
What to know:
- Broker Benchmark said Bitcoin’s main vulnerability lies in exposed public keys, not the protocol itself.
- Coinbase’s new Quantum Advisory Council marks a shift from theoretical concern to institutional response.
- Bitcoin’s architecture is conservative but adaptable, according to Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer, with a long runway for upgrades.











