Ethereum developers discussed the technical issues that went wrong during the launch of Medalla testnet and that could have been improved to make the release smoother.
Ethereum Team Brainstorms
On a live stream, developers deliberated about issues that needed to be addressed for the testnet to be healthy. The software developing team all agreed that the number of validators that were active during the launch was lower than desired, as the network needed more participation to operate optimally. However, since the launch earlier this week, the network has been reported to have stabilized.
Bugs Uncovered During Genesis
Ethereum (ETH) team deliberated about what went wrong during the launch. Before genesis time was initiated, several bugs were discovered. These bugs would have hindered the connections between nodes to run smoothly if not fixed. As this was only uncovered a few days before the launch, some validators might have failed to upgrade to the latest software update, leaving the issue of interoperability unresolved just before the launch of Medalla testnet.
As ETH 2.0 testnet relies on the community to run smoothly, all validators must do their part in order to ensure the health and stability of the blockchain.
Ethereum Raises Awareness to Prevent Future Mishaps
Problems with the launchpad that enabled validators of the blockchain network to stake their coins were also uncovered. Node binaries were not prepared in time, and it was uncovered by Ethereum developers that some users had staked multiple 32 ETH deposits, the minimum level required to mine on ETH 2.0 testnet.
To improve user experience and make Ethereum accessible to all, Ethereum Foundation redesigned their website shortly after the launch of Medalla and integrated educational content as well.
Participation Levels During Launch
As validator inputs was 57% during the first hour of the launch, Ethereum developers stipulated that this was partially due to Nimbus and Lodestar clients demonstrating low validator participation during attestations, which are crucial for verifying each block. Also, during the launch, some important stakers were offline, but through a bit of coordination with the 5 main client teams – Teku, Prysm, Nimbus, Lodestar and Lighthouse- the participation rate soared to 80%, ensuring a healthier chain.
Medalla 2.0 Final Testnet
Medalla testnet is still mature, and therefore it appears that is it not completely stable at the time of writing. However, Ethereum team are working on improving and perfecting the blockchain, before the anticipated launch of Ethereum 2.0 mainnet. Ethereum 2.0 is much anticipated by the ETH community, as it will transition from a Proof-of-Work consensus to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), joining Cardano’s ranks. PoS will enable users in the Ethereum network to lock up their accumulated digital coins and get paid for helping secure the blockchain.
Medalla 2.0 testnet is to be the last testnet released before Ethereum 2.0 mainnet comes into play. On the day of the launch, an Ethereum developer reportedly stated confidently :
“Low participation is just temporary; we will get through this. We have genesis, we have a chain running and resilience built into the protocol. We have an opportunity for the protocol to demonstrate what it can do, which is to recover from low participation from validators.”
Ethereum developers are confident that their blockchain project will only get better from here on forward.
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