Spadina Testnet For ETH Fails To Launch Properly, Devs Need More Time

The Spadina testnet which was focused on genesis block creation had low participation because of technical issues which means it had trouble launching as we are about to read more in the ETH news.

The Spadina testnet focuses on genesis for ETH 2.0 but the lack of user participation combined with technical issues and user confusion made the launch unsuccessful. The developers will run another trial- Zinken, next week. The short-lived ETH testent and “dress rehearsal” for the ETH2 Genesis, ran into major problems during the launch today.

As a result, ETH 2.0 the upcoming proof-of-stake network will need at least two more rehearsals according to Danny Ryan who is the developer leading the testnet efforts. Spadina is a short-term testnet meant for trialing genesis or the creation of the first block on ETH 2.0. The second-biggest blockchain network is going to shift towards proof-of-stake and along with it, less-congested blockchain will lower gas will come.

Spadina is separate from the Medalla testnet which is a general sandbox meant to represent the already running version of the proof of stake network. Spadina replicates the start of that network and testing out its creation is very important because before the proof of stake chain can start to operate, at least 16,384 validator nodes have to be running the network and deposit more than half a million ETH.

Though the testnets are less used than the full-fledged blockchains as they lack a lot of utility for non-developers, Ryan commented that “small errors in the client release process exacerbated this problem resulting in 1/3 participation in the first few epochs.” Prysm Labs said that this is not a major problem to deal with:

 “The issue with finality was not a critical bug nor a consensus error, but rather something due to configuration parameters which can be fixed with a release.”

After that, everybody has to head back and try this again. Ryan and others in charge of the ETH2 testing have already scheduled another dress rehearsal known as Zinken later next week. For that to be successful, Ryan said that the testnet participants have to up their game:

 “As this is a dress rehearsal, we ask you to take genesis seriously. Only make deposits for vals you intend to run, and if at all possible, be attentive in the 24 hours leading to genesis — upgrading your node if necessary.”