Source: U.today

Translated by: Jordan, PANews

This week, the Ethereum testnet Goerli officially announced its exit from the stage of history, and the new generation testnet Holesky took over its mission. Undoubtedly, this is an important milestone event in the development of Ethereum. So, what are the reasons for Ethereum's decision to end Goerli in 2023, and what is special about the highly anticipated "successor" Holesky testnet?

Replacing Goerli: Ethereum's New Testnet Holesky Officially Launched

September 15, 2023, marks the one-year anniversary of the Ethereum mainnet merge, and Ethereum has chosen this day to take Goerli offline and have all developers migrate to the latest test network - Holesky. This test network is also Ethereum's first proof-of-stake (PoS) testnet, with the following key information:

• Ethereum test network Holesky (also known as Holešky, Holeše ovice) was originally scheduled to launch on September 15, 2023 (Note by PANews: Due to network configuration errors, the launch failed and will be restarted within 1-2 weeks).

2. Holesky officially replaces Goerli and becomes a testnet that supports Ethereum staking, infrastructure, and protocol development.

3. For stress testing dApps, experimenting with smart contracts, and other EVM-related programs, developers can refer to the Sepolia testnet.

4. Holesky is the first Ethereum testnet based on the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.

5. Holesky will effectively address the scalability issues of the Goerli testnet, including the shortage of goETH testnet tokens and the low number of validators.

• Holesky has 1.46 million validators, almost twice the size of the Ethereum mainnet.

• Holesky testing network will be used until 2028.

The launch of Holesky provides Ethereum developers with a new "sandbox" test environment, where testers can validate the functionality of Ethereum protocols, products, and services on the blockchain.

Basic Knowledge: The Importance of Ethereum Testnet

In the cryptocurrency field, a testnet is an experimental distributed network that simulates various transaction processes on a cryptocurrency network without the actual transfer of value. Like the mainnet, accounts can send tokens to each other, and validators confirm tokens by adding new blocks to the chain.

Users of the Ethereum testnet can obtain test tokens from "faucets," which are mechanisms for distributing free tokens on the testnet. Users can earn free test ETH by completing certain tasks (such as sharing social media accounts, connecting Discord, etc.).

For dApps, stress testing is essential, and testnets allow project teams to avoid the risk of financial loss. Therefore, whether it's a DeFi protocol or a crypto wallet, it is tested on a testnet before being deployed on the mainnet.

Ropsten, Rinkeby, Goerli, and Sepolia: Crucial Ethereum Testnets

As the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and the first programmable blockchain with smart contracts, Ethereum has used multiple testnets throughout its 8-year history:

1. In 2016, Ethereum launched the Ropsten testnet, replacing Morden. Ropsten is the first Proof-of-Work (PoW) Ethereum testnet, and the majority of dApps used by users on the Ethereum mainnet are tested on the Ropsten platform. It is also the first testnet to be "merged" when Ethereum transitions from PoW to PoS.

2. In 2017, Ethereans introduced Rinkeby, a modified version of the Ethereum Proof of Authority (PoA) testnet based on the Clique consensus mechanism. However, this testnet can only interact with the Go Ethereum (Geth) version of client software.

3,  2018  Year, at the  ETH  Berlin Conference, Ethereum developers launched  Goerli  as a multi-client test network, which means that  Goerli  can be used for transactions with Ethereum software versions written in different programming languages.

4,  2021  Year, Ethereum  Sepolia  test network was launched, and the token quantity of this test network is not restricted.

Holesky: "Very Special" Ethereum Test Network

To be frank, Ethereum  Holesky  test network should be considered as a trial by the core developers, aiming to solve all the issues that the previous test networks and their teams have encountered in some way. Holesky  is the first test net launched after the "Ethereum Merge", which means that Holesky  does not have any Proof of Work (PoW) version. It is worth mentioning that the name "Holesky" is said to have originated from Nádraží Holešovice  metro station in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic.

The launch of Holesky  is inevitably associated with a question: What problem occurred in the Goerli  test network? In fact, the Goerli  test network launched in  2018  did have some drawbacks, such as the frequent shortage of GoETH  test tokens for Goerli  test users, which forced them to spend money to purchase them on their own or even led to speculation in test network tokens. This situation obviously contradicts the original intention of the test network. This problem should be effectively resolved after the launch of Holesky. According to the creators of the Holesky  test network, they have allocated over 2 billion HoleskyETH  tokens upon release, which is sufficient to meet the needs of all developers.

In addition, the Holesky test network will have an unprecedented number of validators: 1.46 million validator entities will protect network integrity, a number greater than the sum of Ethereum mainnet (over 800,000 validators) and Goerli testnet (approximately 512,000 validators). This will enable developers to more accurately simulate the "real world" Ethereum (ETH) operations.

On the other hand, Holesky will also collaborate with the Sepolia testnet. Like previous Ethereum testnets, Holesky itself has a set of independent validators, block explorers, and faucet ecosystems. Sepolia is a platform for testing smart contracts, decentralized applications, and all EVM functionalities. The collaboration between the two will drive Holesky to become a technological platform capable of conducting staking design, Ethereum universal infrastructure, and protocol-level development experiments.

Furthermore, similar to other EVM ecosystem blockchains, Holesky has a set of network specifications. Users need to pay attention to some key parameters when connecting to this testnet, as follows:

Name: HoleskyFlag--holesky Network ID: 17000 Chain ID: 17000 Block explorer: https://holesky.beaconcha.in/Launch epoch: 1694786400

It is reported that the Holesky testnet will continue to run until around 2028, with an expected operational period until December 2028. Developers can now immediately claim some HoleskyETH test tokens and start using the Holesky testnet. If you would like to experience it as well, you can give it a try.