According to Tim Beiko of the Ethereum Foundation, the Ethereum core developers are planning a new testnet dubbed Holli in response to issues with purchasing ETH on the blockchain’s principal test networks.
The release of Holli, which is anticipated later this year, might enhance the testing environment for node operators and client and application developers. It intends to address difficulties with ETH supply acquisition on Ethereum test networks, especially on Goerli.
Developers can install programs and test them for faults on test networks (also known as testnets), which are cloned blockchains used for experimental reasons before being deployed on the main network. Goerli and Sepolia are the two main testnets that comprise Ethereum’s ecosystem at the moment.
Ethereum distribution technique
Goerli is a crucial network since it was the first native multi-client testnet that validators frequently used. But, Goerli’s native ETH distribution technique (GoETH) has been labeled as “less dependable,” Beiko noted. A small number of validator entities control the majority of the distribution of GoETH. They share a small amount of GoETH with users who successfully complete a Twitter verification process using “faucets,” which has sparked questions about privacy and time usage.
The creators of the Layer Zero interoperability protocol have unveiled a cross-chain liquidity pool that enables users to purchase GoETH. Many believe that this market could threaten the testnet’s open nature, despite the fact that it aims to allay developer qualms about buying GoETH.
The other testnet, Sepolia, made an effort to address the supply problem with a design that allowed test validators to create Sepolia-ETH at will (SepETH). Sepolia is still closed to permissionless validators. Therefore, a small number of entities might be hoarding its supply. Hence, in order to alleviate supply difficulties and offer a better environment for developers and validators, Beiko and other core developers have suggested launching Holli as a new testnet.
To make Holli-ETH more accessible to application developers, Beiko has suggested automatic allocations to all developers’ addresses that have ever deployed smart contracts on the testnets or the Ethereum mainnet.
