Ethereum Foundation Announces Mekong Testnet Shutdown

According to PANews, the Ethereum Foundation announced on its official blog that the Mekong development network, initially designed to provide a testing ground for wallet developers and instill confidence in stakers regarding future Pectra changes, will cease operations on March 7, 2025. The Pectra network upgrade has been activated on Ethereum's Sepolia and Holesky testnets, which are now available for testing Pectra upgrade features. Developers of applications and tools are encouraged to use Sepolia for testing applications, smart contracts, and other EVM functionalities. Its licensed validator set offers a stable testing environment, and many local development environments allow testing against a copy of the Ethereum mainnet state. For stakers and infrastructure providers focused on protocol-level testing, it is recommended to wait for the finalization of the Holesky testnet or monitor announcements on Ethereum's R&D Discord for alternative testing locations. For validator setup testing, stakers should also consider using the Ephemery testnet, which resets weekly and supports lightweight end-to-end testing of the validator lifecycle.