Ethereum’s highly anticipated Pectra upgrade, considered the most significant since the network’s transition to proof-of-stake, has encountered multiple bugs during testing on two major testnets. Despite the setbacks, Ethereum developers swiftly addressed the issues, ensuring the upgrade’s continued progress.
The Pectra update first ran into trouble on Holesky, and later on Sepolia, Ethereum’s second testnet. Tim Beiko, the Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol Support Lead, confirmed that both issues had been resolved. The latest glitch on Sepolia, which occurred on March 5, was identified as a bug in the network’s custom deposit contract. This issue caused the system to separate transaction transfers and deposit actions, rather than combining them into a single blockchain message. Beiko reported that developers fixed the problem approximately six hours after Pectra was deployed.
“Validators have already upgraded, and the chain is now operating normally,” Beiko said on social media, adding that some infrastructure providers, such as explorers and wallets, might experience temporary issues until their systems are also updated.
Ethereum’s block explorer, Etherscan, confirmed that Sepolia resumed normal block production and transaction settlements after the fix.
Sepolia marks the second testnet impacted by Pectra’s trial, following a misconfiguration that disrupted Holesky’s network in February. Developers worked to resolve the issue, reinforcing the system’s resilience. Both Holesky and Sepolia are critical final testing phases before the upgrade reaches Ethereum’s mainnet.
While the team initially aimed for an early April mainnet deployment, delays are now possible due to the setbacks experienced on the testnets.
Related Topics:
