Ethereum Final Testnet Medalla Goes Live

Ethereum Medalla, the last public official testnet, runs for the next 3 months before the mainnet Ethereum 2.0 comes into picture. It went live on Aug 4 2020 aiming to help Ethereum complete a smooth transition in 3 months period. Based on this, the launch date of ETH 2.0 is expected to be November 4, 2020.

Medalla testnet is just the last multi client Eth 2.0 testnets.  ETH 2.0 was tested across multiple single client testnets from 2019 to Q3 2020. Unlike the previous testnets, Medalla was public. This means there is no central coordination from dev team to finalize the network validators.

Know Your Clients

The Ethereum community is having five different clients since genesis

All these clients have their own testnet and use their own version of Testnet ETH. These tokens have no value.

For example, I have set up Prysm testnet and used GoerliETH (GoETH) which is not valued anything in real world. This was to get an idea of how to stake with beacon chain and validators running. I know the process and ready to stake once the Ethereum 2.0 mainnet arrives.

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What is the use of Ethereum Testnet?

Ethereum 2.0 will be a crucial multi year upgrade that ETH developers look forward to. It will greatly improve Ethereum’s transactions processing capability and efficiency. Other phases includes sharding and scaling as well.

Right now, we are shooting for the ETH 2.0 phase 0 launch. Remember, all users who participate in the proof of stake validation will get their staking rewards.

The Ethereum Medalla testnet includes many of potential ETH 2.0 primary features. This testnet launch will simulate the results on what happens in a real environment. Once everything looks stable, we will make the eventual transition to mainnet.

Here is ETH developer Danny’s latest blog post

“A great milestone in the development of ETH2.0 is launched. If Medalla is stable, mainnet launch comes next. This constitutes years of hard work by many engineers and researchers. Hope every one is excited!”

Medalla testnet doesn’t yet permit validator nodes to get their staking rewards. Instead, it is organizing everyone to practice freely on how to stake in Ethereum 2.0. The ETH 2.0 launch date is currently on November 4th. Let’s hope they ship ETH2 on time.

How To Participate in Ethereum Testnet?

Ethereum community members who wishes to operate a validator node has to  follow a step by step staking guide. Please note, this process is not simple and not for newbies. You need to keep your node always online, after configuring it.

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Before you start, you ought to get testnet ETH from client devs on Discord platform or public faucets. I got mine by asking in Prysm Discord.

Non-technical users of the ETH Community may want to stake ETH by joining a staking pool like Rocketpool. This way, one can completely avoid the headache that comes with configuring and upkeep of these nodes. Services like Rocketpool will manage all of your ETH stake, for a tiny fee.

Even if you don’t have 32 ETH, you can pool and stake. Also, no worries about node being online always. This greatly untangles the complex staking process. Remember, this is not the recommended method but fully safe method for newbies.

If you want to earn interest on your investment, look at various Yield Farming techniques on Ethereum. This provides an alternative income until Mainnet staking arrives later this year.

There was a rumor earlier that Ethereum 2.0 phase zero may not be live until Q1 2021. This may have a meaning that they miss another deadline of launching ETH 2.0 within 2020 deadline.

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However, the recent progress looks promising and Medalla testnet results gives me confidence. So, I believe the launch date for ETH 2.0 will be November 4th. Cardano’s successful Shelley transition may be pushing ETH developers to get ETH 2.0 going before 2020 ends.

How Strong is ETH internet tribe?

ETH is not the only platform trying to offer proof of stake. Many cryptocurrencies already offer staking and staking rewards on their mainnet. Some notable cryptocurrencies include Cardano with its Shelley mainnet (ADA), Tezos (XTZ), Cosmos (ATOM) and Algorand (ALGO).

Chico Crypto explains about Crypto communities forming powerful internet kingdoms just like the traditional kingdoms in the past. EOS, XRP, Cardano are internet tribes trying to work their way up to internet kingdoms like Bitcoin & Ethereum. In conclusion, Competing altcoin tribes are building bridges to Ethereum and DeFi (decentralized finance).