Fusaka Testnet Announcement
Fusaka Testnet Announcement
Ethereum’s scaling roadmap takes a decisive leap forward as the Fusaka testnet series goes live, marking the first major rollout after the year‑long Pectra upgrade. With PeerDAS, boosted blob throughput, and a suite of performance tweaks, the network is poised to reshape L1 dynamics and user experience.
📊 Key Facts At A Glance
- →On October 15, the Holesky testnet entered slot 5,283,840, officially kicking off the three‑phase Fusaka testnet activation
What Happened
On October 15, the Holesky testnet entered slot 5,283,840, officially kicking off the three‑phase Fusaka testnet activation. The rollout follows the successful Pectra mainnet upgrade scheduled for May 7, 2025 at epoch 364,032 (10:05:11 UTC).
Simultaneously, the Fusaka $2,000,000 audit contest launched on September 15, co‑sponsored by Gnosis and Lido and hosted on the Sherlock platform. The four‑week bounty aims to crowdsource security reviews before the upgrade reaches production.
In parallel, the Holešky testnet announced its sunset, with validator nodes slated for shutdown two weeks after the Fusaka upgrade finalizes on Holešky. The network will cease all client support thereafter.
Key Details
Fusaka introduces PeerDAS, a decentralized data availability layer that promises a 30 % increase in blob throughput compared with the previous Pectra implementation. Early benchmarks suggest transaction finality can improve by up to 0.8 seconds under peak load.
The audit contest offers a total prize pool of $2 million, split across three tiers: $1 million for the top three findings, $600,000 for the next five, and $400,000 for the remaining ten high‑impact reports. “We want the brightest minds to stress‑test Fusaka before mainnet,” said Elena Marquez, lead security architect at Gnosis.
Clients that participated in the Pectra testnet revealed deposit contract configuration bugs on Sepolia and Holesky. While Sepolia recovered quickly, Holesky suffered “inactivity leaks” that required extensive validator exits before finalization.
Background
The Pectra upgrade, rolled out earlier this year, laid the groundwork for larger data blobs and introduced the first iteration of the Data Availability Sampling (DAS) protocol. It was a prerequisite for Fusaka’s more ambitious PeerDAS design, which decentralizes data availability across a broader validator set.
Prior to Fusaka, developers relied on the Mekong devnet for wallet UX experiments and staking confidence building. Mekong has now been deprecated, as its purpose was fulfilled by the successful activation of Pectra on Sepolia and Holesky testnets.
Why It Matters
By enhancing blob throughput and reducing latency, Fusaka directly addresses Ethereum’s scalability bottlenecks, paving the way for higher‑throughput dApps and more efficient rollups. The upgrade also improves L1 performance metrics, which could lower gas fees during periods of network congestion.
The $2 million audit contest underscores the community‑driven security ethos that has become a hallmark of Ethereum development. Early detection of vulnerabilities—especially after the Holesky inactivity leaks—helps safeguard billions of dollars of assets that will eventually migrate to the upgraded mainnet.
What Happens Next
Following Holesky’s scheduled shutdown, the next testnet phase, Hoodi, will activate in early November, extending PeerDAS testing to a broader validator set. Developers are encouraged to migrate their test contracts and monitor the new RPC endpoints for performance metrics.
Assuming the audit contest yields no critical blockers, the Fusaka upgrade is expected to be merged into the Ethereum mainnet in Q1 2026, aligning with the final stages of the scaling roadmap. Stakeholders will receive client updates and migration guides well before the hard fork.
Fusaka’s debut marks a pivotal moment in Ethereum’s evolution, promising faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions for the ecosystem’s next generation.
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📚 Sources & Attribution
- ✓ Ethereum Blog