Ethereum 2.0, the staking blockchain built to deliver a more scalable and secure user experience, launches its latest Kiln testnet.
Ethereum developers have been working for years on a new blockchain focused on scalability and performance: Ethereum 2.0. Although there will only be one Ethereum in the future, the current blockchain will migrate from the proof-of-work consensus protocol, Proof of WorkPoW) to the proof of stake protocol, proof of stake (PoS), to ensure a more scalable user experience and overcome its current limitations.
Ethereum 2.0 is built in 3 phases or stages. The first of these began in December 2020, with the launch of the beacon chain Beacon ChainSince then, although developers have advanced at a slower pace than expected, Ethereum 2.0 has made significant progress. According to estimates by Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, the staking blockchain could be ready for launch next year.
Currently, the developers of this blockchain network announced the launch of the Kiln test network, the last testnet prior to the long-awaited merger of Ethereum and Ethereum 2.0, called The Merge.
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Kiln, the last testnet before “The Merge”
In a publication Recently, the Ethereum Foundation urged Ethereum 2.0 client and infrastructure providers, as well as the community of developers and validators of this network blockchain, to run tests within Kiln to ensure a smooth transition to existing public testnets.
Kiln is a testing space where developers, vendors, and node validators will be able to test the performance of their products and tools as if they were already on the Ethereum 2.0 stake chain. Kiln is expected to be the last combined testnet created before the existing public testnets are updated, the Ethereum Foundation explained. Likewise, the developers of this blockchain estimate that after March 17, The Merge has already happened on the Kiln testnet.
Mining vs Validation
The fusion The Merge Ethereum and Ethereum 2.0 will make the miners of the current Ethereum network obsolete. The blockchain seeks to be more scalable and also more sustainable with the environment by using proof of stake as one of the consensus protocols that require less energy to guarantee the operation of a blockchain without affecting decentralization; although the latter is one of the most debated points in the crypto community currently.
In any case, the Ethereum Foundation notes that at some point, the Ethereum mainnet, which we use today, will need to join or couple with the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain; something that could happen this year, according to the network's updated roadmap. coupling The merger of Ethereum and the Beacon Chain will mark the end of PoW mining and usher in PoS-based staking, the Foundation explained, although after the merger of both chains, a full Ethereum node will be a combination of a client on the execution layer (ETH) and a client on the consensus layer (ETH2).
The next step will be the sharding or fragmentation, which will allow Ethereum be divided into 64 subchains with improved ability to process and validate transactions and store data. sharding, which has been one of the biggest challenges for Ethereum developers, is the core element of the network's scalability.
Ethereum, leader of DApps, DeFi and NFTs
Ethereum is one of the most innovative blockchains created in the crypto industry. Since its launch in 2015, this chain has led the development of decentralized applications (DApps), decentralized finance protocols (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFT) and Metaverses. Although, at present, great adversaries and competitors have emerged, such as Cardano, Polkadot and Solana, which are part of the Top 10 of the main cryptocurrencies, of the industry.
However, despite its scalability issues and high network costs, Ethereum continues to be the darling of DApps, DeFi, and NFT developers. Currently, Ethereum is the second most capitalized blockchain in the industry, with more than 308.600 million in the market. The current price of its native cryptocurrency, ETH, exceeds $2.570 per unit at the time of this edition.
Ethereum dominates 54% of the overall DeFi ecosystem, with a total liquidity of 108.960 million, according to data from the DeFi platform Llama. In the NFT market, this blockchain continues to be the main one, with more than 24.000 NFT transactions per day and a daily volume of 38 million in sales.
Continue reading: Irreversibility in transactions: Vitalik Buterin presents proposal for Ethereum 2.0
