Ethereum (ETH) developers initially celebrated the successful testing of the highly anticipated Pectra upgrade on the Sepolia testnet on Wednesday. However, just hours later, errors started occurring on the network, casting doubt on the timeline for Pectra’s mainnet launch.
Poised to be Ethereum’s most significant update since 2024, the Pectra update aims to improve efficiency, user experience, and its validator system. However, this latest issue marks the second problematic test for Pectra, following a previous setback on Ethereum’s Holesky testnet. As a result, some developers are now advocating a delay in its deployment.
Sepolia’s test was initially seen as the final step before launching Pectra on the Ethereum mainnet. While initial results were promising, developers later discovered that the blockchain was adding empty blocks.
According to the Ethereum Foundation, the issue was linked to “an issue with Sepolia’s permissioned deposit contract,” which prevented many execution layer clients from including transactions in blocks. The foundation explained that this was a testnet-specific misconfiguration rather than an inherent flaw in Pectra. Developers quickly identified the root cause and implemented a fix to restore Sepolia’s functionality.
Despite the solution, concerns remain over whether Pectra has undergone sufficient testing. The Holesky testnet has previously encountered issues due to misconfigured validators, raising doubts about Pectra’s readiness.
Christine Kim, VP of Research at Galaxy Digital, suggested that these testnet challenges warranted a delay to Pectra’s mainnet activation. “While developers may feel ready, the broader Ethereum ecosystem, including major smart contract applications and wallet providers, needs to be prepared,” Kim said. Kim also advised developers to “spend time setting up additional test infrastructure” before moving forward.
Ethereum core developers are scheduled to meet on March 7 to determine the official launch date for Pectra.
*This is not investment advice.
