The Ethereum blockchain’s Kintsugi Testnet has been officially launched, and it’s set to merge the Ethereum mainnet and beacon chain by Q2 2022.
Fresh from the Amphora merge workshop, the Kintsugi Testnet is the latest development in Ethereum’s roadmap. Kintsugi is a Japanese word that refers to the art of repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer, emphasizing the breaks and making them part of the object’s history.
The goal of the Kintsugi Testnet is to merge Ethereum’s mainnet and beacon chain, creating a more efficient and scalable blockchain. The testnet will also include updates to the Ethereum protocol, such as sharding and the Casper FFG (Friendly Finality Ghost), a consensus protocol built by Vitalik Buterin and Virgil Griffith sometime in 2017, designed to help realize Ethereum’s full transition to the proof-of-stake state.
The Kintsugi Testnet is currently in beta, and developers are encouraged to test it out and provide feedback. The Testnet will be officially launched in Q2 2022. Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko took to Twitter to announce the launch and ask the community for help with testing:
Over the past few months, client teams have been working tirelessly to implement a new set of merge milestones. They are now live on a new testnet: Kintsugi 🍵! Here’s how you can join the testnet and help with testing: https://t.co/ARDezguzXE 👀Christmas came early🎄!
— Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth 🍵 (@TimBeiko) December 20, 2021
According to Beiko, Ethereum’s client teams have been working hard at the implementation, checking current versions for the merge specifications through devnet tests.
“Although client development and UX continue to be refined, we encourage the community to start using Kintsugi to familiarize themselves with Ethereum in a post-merge context.” Beiko shared in Ethereum’s official blog.
The Kintsugi landing page is now available for interfacing with the Kintsugi network. Interested testers will be able to find network settings, a faucet, a block explorer and a JSON-RPC endpoint. The site also provides updated documentation to mirror supported consensus and execution layer client combinations.
Once merged by Q2 2022, Ethereum 2.0 will provide better scalability and lower transaction fees on its new proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. According to recent data published by Consensys, over 8.4 million $ETH has been staked so far by institutions for Ethereum 2.0, with at least 5.2% in recorded APY (annual percentage yield).
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
