Ethereum’s Pectra Update on Holesky Testnet Faces Setbacks

On February 24th, at epoch 115,968, Ethereum developers activated the Pectra hard fork on the Holesky testnet. As a result, the network ceased finalizing slots.

According to Parithosh Jayanthi from the Ethereum Foundation, the upgrade “encountered a configuration issue on three major network clients.” Fixes are already prepared, and operators need to update their software, he added.

The Pectra fork adds a lot of new config values, these are usually system contracts . However, EIP-6110 moves the deposits detection from the domain of the CL to the domain of the EL.

This implies the EL needs to configure the deposit contract.
(2/13)https://t.co/c5ev3RfnA1

— parithosh | ???? (@parithosh_j) February 25, 2025

“The Pectra hard fork adds many new configuration values, which are typically system contracts. However, EIP-6110 moves deposit detection from the CL domain to the EL domain. This means execution-level settings are required,” Jayanthi explained.

The identified bug does not affect the main network and is related to Holesky’s peculiarities, the developer clarified.

This might sound weird, but before Pectra EL clients didn’t have to “know” that the deposit contract was special because the CL just read from it directly.

Now, because deposits can be triggered by the EL and aren’t delayed by 2048 blocks (to account for PoW reorgs pre-merge),… https://t.co/CVuf5r6thM

— timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko) February 25, 2025

“The issue arose because Holesky (and Sepolia) deposit contracts are at a different address than the main network. Why? I have no idea,” confirmed Ethereum team lead Tim Beiko.

The team will discuss further actions to resume the testnet’s operation during a teleconference.

“The error will give us insight into how the mainnet would operate if such a scenario arises. This will provide us ample time to address issues before they become critical,” Jayanthi emphasized.

The activation of the Pectra hard fork on the Sepolia test network is tentatively scheduled for March 5th.