The new Ethereum update on testnet is expected on March 5th

After the failure of the Pectra update of Ethereum on the Holesky testnet a few days ago, the anticipation now shifts to March 5th. 

In fact, that is the date when the second test of Pectra should be conducted, this time on the Sepolia testnet. 

The testnet di Ethereum: tutto quello che devi sapere

The Ethereum testnets are parallel networks, but separate from the mainnet, created to conduct tests safely. 

Given that whatever happens on the testnets has no consequences on the mainnet, since they are completely separate and autonomous, they are the ideal environments in which to try out changes and innovations, because in the event of a negative outcome, at most they can destroy the testnet, but without ever having any consequences on the main network used by common users. 

In fact, for example, after the failure of the Pectra update on the Holesky testnet, its explorer currently displays an error message revealing that the data related to the blocks of this testnet are not being updated because the network is experiencing finalization issues. However, there is no trace of this problem on the mainnet explorer.

Technically, the tesnet of Ethereum are replicas of the Ethereum mainnet with the same protocol, but with data completely independent from those of the mainnet.

Of course, there is only one mainnet, and it is the one that everyone uses when they make transactions or execute a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain. However, there are several testnets, also because if one has problems, as happened in recent days with Holesky, there are always others ready for use. 

The next test of Pectra on Sepolia Ethereum testnet

Pectra is a substantial and important update to the Ethereum protocol. It is not surprising, therefore, that in this phase of development and testing, problems or bugs may emerge. 

The tests conducted on the testnets are therefore very important, because it is necessary to identify and solve all the problems before bringing it to the mainnet. In recent years, in fact, it has always been this way, with numerous problems and bugs emerging over the years on the testnets, all then resolved so that none of them occurred on the mainnet. 

The problem caused by Pectra at Holesky has been identified, and the corrections to be made to the protocol to resolve it have already been identified. 

Therefore, as soon as these corrections are ready, it will be possible to proceed with a second test. 

The second test of Pectra is scheduled for Wednesday, March 5, 2025, and will take place on the Ethereum Sepolia testnet. 

In these cases, usually the problem does not reoccur, because the test is carried out only if the corrections have been applied. However, this obviously does not completely rule out the possibility of other problems arising. 

In fact, the launch date of Pectra on the Ethereum mainnet has not yet been decided, because it can only be set after all tests have yielded positive results. 

The protection of the mainnet

It must be remembered that a decentralized protocol like Ethereum cannot actually be manipulated by anyone. 

This completely excludes the real possibility of intervening on the mainnet to apply corrections in case of problems. 

The only truly effective way to modify the Ethereum protocol is precisely by applying updates. Once applied, however, they are immediately put into use and can no longer be modified. At most, one can consider intervening with further updates, but the timeframes to produce, test, and launch an update on a decentralized system are very often very long. 

This is why all tests must be conducted before the launch on the mainnet, and why they must all yield completely positive results. The timelines are extended, but it is not possible to do otherwise, under penalty of risking the proper functioning of the mainnet. 

The updates of Ethereum

Unlike the Bitcoin protocol, which evolves very slowly, Ethereum evolves a bit more rapidly.

For example, regarding Bitcoin, an update can be applied approximately every 4 years, while for Ethereum, sometimes it is possible to achieve one per year. Other chains, less decentralized, have shorter timeframes. 

Note that there are, however, two different types of updates, which have different timings. 

In both cases, to apply the update, a so-called fork must be performed, but there are two types of fork. 

In fact, if the updated protocol is perfectly compatible with the previous one, the fork is called “soft”, and it can actually be applied whenever desired, provided that all tests have been successfully completed. 

If, on the other hand, the new updated protocol is not compatible with the previous one, as happened for example with Ethereum in September 2022 with the transition from PoW to PoS, the fork is called “hard,” and it must be prepared with great care. 

In these cases, there is a risk that after the fork, two different and incompatible protocols may coexist if the old protocol continues to survive. For example, in September 2022, the old Ethereum protocol based on PoW, and incompatible with the updated one, survived under the name Ethereum PoW. 

Regarding the Pectra update, it is an hard fork for which, however, the survival of the previous protocol is not expected. It is hoped that all current Ethereum nodes will apply it.