An Ethereum EVM-compatible testnet (Chain ID 17000), Holesky features a massive validator set and high capacity for realistic staking, infrastructure, and protocol upgrade testing.
Holesky is Ethereum’s long‑lived public testnet that mirrors mainnet Proof‑of‑Stake and EIP‑4844 “blob” transactions, with test ETH as the native currency. It is used for pre‑mainnet upgrade rehearsals, large‑scale validator/staking lifecycle testing, client and infrastructure benchmarking, and integration testing for rollups, wallets, and cross‑chain bridges. Performance is mainnet‑like for realistic trials: ~12s block time, ~10–15 TPS, and ~1 gwei average gas price (negligible), with network scale exceeding 1M validators.
Holesky is unique for its scale and realism: it was designed to run at over one million validators with abundant, faucet‑driven test ETH, removing the scarcity that hampered Goerli. It closely tracks current mainnet forks (including Dencun/EIP‑4844), enabling blob‑data testing for L2s and MEV/relay infrastructure under near‑production conditions. Compared with other testnets, it offers stable ~12s blocks, ~10–15 TPS, and ~1 gwei gas costs alongside high validator participation, giving bridge and protocol teams a more mainnet‑like performance signal.
Holesky uses ETH as the gas token for transaction fees. You can obtain ETH by bridging from other chains or purchasing using thirdweb Bridge, or through faucets (for testnet).
To bridge ETH to Holesky, connect your wallet to thirdweb bridge, select your source chain, choose the token you want to bridge, select Holesky as the destination, enter the amount, and confirm the transaction. The bridge will handle the cross-chain transfer instantly.
To build on Holesky you can use thirdweb, which provides an easy way to build, monetize and scale your apps, games or agents. You can find detailed guides and documentation on https://portal.thirdweb.com to get started quickly.
To add Holesky to your wallet, you can connect your wallet and click on [Add to Wallet] button at the top of the page. Alternatively, you can add the network manually using the RPC URL and chain details and add it to your wallet's network settings.
To send ETH on Holesky, ensure your wallet is connected to the Holesky network, enter the recipient's address, specify the amount of ETH to send, review the gas fee, and confirm the transaction in your wallet.