Ethereum's Testnet Upgrade Delayed Due to Consensus Bug

Ethereum developers have postponed the public testnet upgrade due to a newly discovered consensus bug, according to the latest insights from the 204th All Core Developers’ Meeting. The bug, which affects the Nethermind client on the Pectra Devnet 5, has been resolved, and the launch of Devnet 6 remains unaffected. However, the specific upgrade time for the public testnet has been delayed.

The meeting also addressed a critical security vulnerability in the Geth client, which could impact Ethereum’s peer-to-peer infrastructure and Layer-2 solutions. Nodes running Geth version 1.14 and above are urged to update immediately to mitigate potential disruptions. The Pectra upgrade schedule outlines key dates, including the Devnet 6 launch during the week of February 3rd and critical decisions concerning the Holesky and Sepolia testnet upgrades slated for February 6th.

The Ethereum community is working diligently to address these challenges and ensure the network’s upgrade roadmap remains on track. Developers plan to discuss the testnet upgrade time again at next week’s ACD meeting, with the official announcement expected around February 10th-11th. The Holesky testnet upgrade is planned for around February 19th, followed by the Sepolia testnet upgrade approximately one week later. The Ethereum mainnet upgrade is scheduled for mid-March.