Good news for Ethereum users! The long-awaited update is finally coming to fruition. This is one of the biggest updates since Ethereum decided to move to “proof of stake”: The Merge. On October 14, Ethereum developers announced the launch of the testnet called Shandong.
A testnet for the Shanghai upgrade
Ethereum has evolved a lot lately. This crypto platform has not only migrated to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Very recently, she also brilliantly ensured the launch of The Merge. To top it all off, Ethereum is bringing the Shandong testnet online.
Shandong is the first pre-Shanghai testnet. This is a experimental testnet aimed at improving, validating and finalizing the new Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs).
Thanks to this testnet, Ethereum developers will now benefit from a test environment. Shadong will allow them to work on Shanghai, the next network update. The advantage of this testnet is that it is particularly accessible to front-end developers as well as Dapps developers.
What could the testnet bring to Ethereum users?
Yes, the Shandong testnet is now live. But the questions we really ask ourselves are: what impact and what changes could this testnet have on users?
As mentioned above, the Shadong testnet aims to optimize EIPs. These refer to proposals submitted by Ethereum developers. They are intended to create new standards and add functionality to the network.
Concretely, the Shandong testnet concerns two specific EIPs:
- the EIP-4895,
- EP-4844.
Particular attention is paid to the EIP-4895, an upgrade that many users have been eagerly awaiting. In particular, it allows them to withdraw staked ETH.
As a reminder, over 13.4 million ETH has been locked with the network since the introduction of the staking feature on the networks beacon chain. A value that represents 11% of the total circulating supply of ETH, or the equivalent of $18 billion.
Regarding the EIP-4844 (proto-DanksSharding proposal), it is an Ethereum improvement proposal. It proposes a simple concept: introduce a new type of transaction on the network. But above all, its main objective is to reduce gas costs on the network.
Finally online, Ethereum users have high expectations for the Shanghai update. Precisely, the Shandong testnet represents a first towards this upgrade. This is an experimental testnet that will activate a set of selected EIPs in Shanghai for the first customer tests.
Two EIPs are highly anticipated with the Shanghai upgrade: the EIP-4895 and the EIP-4844. The former will unlock staked ETH and the latter will help reduce gas fees. Of course, the Shandong testnet will not only focus on these two EIPs. Several others will also be tested.
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