Ethereum developers have launched a new testnet on Sept. 15 called “Holešky.” This network is specifically designed for staking, infrastructure, and protocol development, according to developer documents. Sepolia will continue to be the main network for application development.
Hello Holesky, Ethereum’s Newest Testnet
Read details below#cryptonews #ETH pic.twitter.com/Z6DUMkOExz
— Amy Kols Network (@Amyykols) September 14, 2023
According to Ethereum developer Tim Beiko, an initial supply of 1.6 billion Holešky testnet Ether (HETH) will be allocated to validators on Holešky’s launch day to kickstart the network. This amount is ten times the Ether (ETH) present on the mainnet. Developers are comfortable with this supply as “devnets [are] regularly using 10B supply.”
In the past, the Goerli testnet was utilized for testing new staking, infrastructure, and protocol developments. However, developers began to complain about the low supply of Goerli ETH, hindering adequate testing. With its larger initial supply of HETH, Holešky is expected to address this issue.
Since Sepolia’s launch in 2021, the Ethereum team has been urging application developers to transition from Goerli to Sepolia, leaving only protocol developers on the old network before Holešky’s launch. The plan is to eventually deprecate Goerli in January 2024. Following deprecation, Goerli will be maintained for another year before being completely shut down, as per documentation.
Holešky is likely to experience significant usage due to Ethereum devs’ ambitious roadmap. Their plans include implementing features such as proto-danksharding, danksharding, and Verkle trees, which aim to reduce fees and make node operation more cost-effective. Each of these features will undergo testing on a testnet before being implemented on the mainnet.
