Hedera (HBAR) cancels its v0.79 testnet upgrade as the price slips 8 percent in a week

Hedera has cancelled the upgrade of its testnet to software version v0.79 that was scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The notice has been on the network's status page since Monday evening; it gives neither a reason nor a new date. The price of Hedera (HBAR) stood at around $0.069 on Tuesday evening, a good 8 percent below its level a week earlier. For investors in Germany, the cancellation changes nothing about balances, staking or trading for now. It does, however, push back the timetable for the next mainnet upgrade, and that is exactly what the market watches in a network that has been rebuilding its data architecture for months.

This article sets out what is confirmed and what remains open: the entry on the status page, the recent rhythm of Hedera releases, the week's price action and its key levels, and a checklist for anyone who holds, buys or wants to stake HBAR.

Hedera status page: v0.79 testnet upgrade cancelled with no new date

Hedera announced the upgrade on October 28. According to the status page, the testnet was to switch to v0.79 on November 4 at 7:00 pm German time, the work was expected to take about 40 minutes, and users were told to expect disruption to network services. On November 2 at 9:02 pm German time came the terse follow-up: the upgrade to 0.79 planned for Wednesday had been cancelled.

That is all it says. There is no mention of a bug, no replacement week and no statement on the mainnet. Anyone who reads a technical defect into it is speculating. A change in the test schedule, a missing sign-off from individual node operators or an additional release candidate are just as possible. The only solid fact is that the November 4 date no longer applies.

One point matters for context: the testnet is a public practice network running on worthless test HBAR. Developers, wallet providers and exchanges test new versions there before they reach the mainnet, the network that holds real HBAR and processes real transactions. A cancellation on the testnet does not touch any customer funds.

HBAR price this week: from $0.077 to $0.069

According to CoinGecko, HBAR cost $0.0695 or €0.0621 on Tuesday evening, November 3, at around 7:50 pm German time. That is practically unchanged over 24 hours (up 0.1 percent), down 8.4 percent over seven days and down about 32 percent over 30 days. Market capitalisation was around $3.08bn, ranking 33rd among all cryptocurrencies. Trading volume over the past 24 hours came to about $41mn, rather thin for a coin of this size.

Hourly candles on the Kraken exchange show the course of the week. The weekly high came during the night on Wednesday, October 28, at $0.0772. The weekly low followed in the night to Friday, October 30, at $0.0665. In euro terms, HBAR fell as low as €0.0592 on Thursday evening, October 29. Since then the price has settled in a tight range just below $0.07.

For comparison, the all-time high of $0.569 dates from September 15, 2021. The current price is almost 88 percent below it, according to CoinGecko. One reason for the weak October was the sell-off after the IBM rally at the end of September, which cryptoticker.io covered at the time; if you want to read up on the project's foundations, you will find the basics of Hashgraph and the Hedera Council in our explainer.

The cancellation of the testnet upgrade landed in the middle of this sideways phase. The data show no marked price move on Monday evening or Tuesday. Many traders apparently treat the news as a technical footnote so far.

Testnet before mainnet: why Hedera tests every version on its practice network first

Hedera is a network with a small number of known node operators drawn from the Hedera Council. Every new version of the consensus software therefore follows a fixed pattern: testnet first, then a few days to weeks of observation, then the mainnet. Only once exchanges, wallets and developers have checked their integrations on the testnet is the upgrade scheduled for the live network.

If the testnet date falls through, the mainnet upgrade usually slips as well. That says nothing about damage, only about the sequence. For HBAR holders, it means that new features due with v0.79 will reach the mainnet later than planned. Exactly which features those are, Hedera has not yet published in the release notes for v0.79.

Hedera release rhythm: v0.75 to v0.78 a few weeks apart

The network's official release notes show how tight the cadence has been recently. Version v0.75 reached the testnet on June 25, 2026 and the mainnet on July 22. With v0.76 the order was exceptionally reversed: mainnet on August 28, testnet on September 1. Version v0.77 followed on September 15 on the testnet and September 29 on the mainnet, and v0.78 on October 8 on the testnet and October 16 on the mainnet, where it shipped as build v0.78.1.

The gap between testnet and mainnet has therefore been eight to 27 days. Had v0.79 gone to the testnet on November 4 as planned, this pattern would have pointed to a mainnet upgrade some time between mid and late November. That calculation is an estimate based on past intervals, not an announced date.

In substance, according to the release notes, v0.78 brought a more stable connection between consensus nodes and so-called block nodes, a whole series of security fixes and corrections to key verification, throttling, fees and staking rewards, and the first groundwork, switched off by default, for a protocol called Cross-Ledger Proof Relay (CLPR). Version v0.77 had previously brought the Ethereum changes from the Pectra upgrade to Hedera's smart contract layer.

Block Streams and block nodes: the rebuild behind the Hedera upgrades

Many of these versions serve a larger project. Hedera is overhauling how it outputs data. Until now, the nodes have delivered several separate data streams, including the so-called record stream, a kind of running log of all confirmed transactions. In future, a single block stream is meant to bring this data together. A block stream is a continuous, verifiable data stream in which transactions, results and state changes are bundled into blocks.

These blocks are distributed through dedicated block nodes, specialised servers that receive the consensus nodes' data stream, store it and pass it on to services such as block explorers, exchanges and analytics providers. According to the v0.75 release notes, Hedera is working on the switch from record stream to block stream under proposal HIP-1193; v0.75 already contained the logic for the transition and sent data to block nodes in advance.

Hedera has not publicly confirmed whether v0.79 was meant to bring the actual switch. What is clear is that the closer this change gets, the more depends on exchanges, wallet providers and data services that have to adapt their interfaces. A postponed testnet date gives them more time, but it also lengthens the period in which two systems have to be maintained in parallel.

HBAR levels: $0.077 above, $0.066 below

The week's data yield two obvious levels to watch. On the upside it is the weekly high of $0.0772 from October 28, followed by the round number of $0.08. On the downside lies the weekly low of $0.0665, with the round number of $0.065 beneath it. In euro terms that corresponds roughly to €0.069 above and €0.059 below.

These levels are neither price targets nor a forecast; they only show where the price turned over the past seven days. If you trade HBAR with leverage, bear in mind that a slide below the weekly low can run faster in a thin market with $41mn in daily volume than in the large coins. A detailed assessment with scenarios is available on our HBAR prediction page.

Buying HBAR under MiCA: how to buy and store it in Germany

Since the MiCA transition period ended on July 1, 2026, crypto providers serving customers in the EU need a licence under the European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). If you want to buy HBAR, first check whether the exchange or broker is listed in the register of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). HBAR is listed on many major trading venues, but fees differ markedly. Our side-by-side comparison of crypto exchanges gives an overview of costs, licensing and withdrawal options.

As for storage, an exchange account is convenient, but the coins sit with the provider. If you want to hold HBAR for longer, you can move them to your own wallet. Hedera uses its own account numbers in the format 0.0.xxxxx, so when withdrawing to your own wallet it matters that the exchange supports the Hedera network and, where necessary, asks for a memo field. The testnet upgrade plays no role here: real HBAR exist only on the mainnet.

Leverage and liquidation with HBAR

Several exchanges also offer HBAR as a leveraged perpetual future. A liquidation means the exchange forcibly closes a leveraged position as soon as the posted collateral no longer covers the losses. In a week with a 14 percent gap between high and low, leverage of about seven is enough to wipe out a position within a few days. If you want to trade a technical announcement such as a cancelled upgrade, you carry that risk in full.

HBAR staking without a lock-up: what the holding period means for German tax

Hedera offers native staking: you assign your account to a consensus node and receive rewards in return. According to Hedera's documentation there is no lock-up period, and the staked balance remains available at all times. The Hedera Council sets the reward rate and adjusts it on the mainnet. A cancelled testnet upgrade changes nothing about ongoing staking. If you want to compare providers that offer staking, you will find them in our staking platforms hub.

For tax purposes, Germany applies the rule in Section 23 of the Income Tax Act (EStG): gains from selling HBAR are tax-free after a holding period of more than one year. Within one year, gains remain tax-free only up to an exemption limit of €1,000 per year. Staking rewards count as other income under Section 22 No. 3 and are exempt up to €256 per year; the holding period for the staked coins is not extended as a result. Documenting purchases, sales and rewards carefully will save you a lot of work when filing your tax return.

Hedera v0.79: only a new testnet date will bring clarity

The cancellation is a small piece of news with an open ending. What matters is when Hedera puts a new date on the status page and whether the v0.79 release notes include the switch to Block Streams. Until then, the price range between $0.066 and $0.077 remains the more important signal for investors.

1. Decide on storage: Choose whether your HBAR stay on the exchange or move to your own wallet. Our hardware wallet comparison helps you choose.
2. Review staking offers: Native staking is possible without a lock-up; compare terms and fees in our staking platform comparison.
3. Keep records: Purchase date, purchase price and staking rewards belong in one overview so that the holding period and exemption limits can be proven cleanly. Suitable tools are listed under crypto tax tools and portfolio trackers.

(As of November 3, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)