On April 14, 2020, the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), Vitalik Buterin, revealed that the next phase of Ethereum’s lifecycle is in play with a new testnet release that examines how effectively nodes can transmit info to various node client software.

Buterin explained that they are working with Prysmatic Labs, the builder of an open-source client, to scale Ethereum with sharding protocol. Prysmatic Labs began their journey into implementing Ethereum 2.0 with three major milestones: Ruby, Sapphire, and Diamond.

Prysmatic Labs made the new development known via a blog post on April 15, 2020, where they unveiled the final planned restart for Ethereum 2.0 Phase 0: The Topaz Test Network.

The Topaz test network is unique as it represents the full Ethereum 2.0 Phase 0 mainnet configuration. For Topaz, validators are going to have to deposit the full 32 ETH on the Goerli ETH1 testnet to participate.

Moreover, the post explained that the Topaz test network is now accepting genesis deposits. Any developer who would like to be a genesis validator can send their deposit before 00:00 UTC April 16, 2020, as that is when Prysmatic will begin sending deposits en masse to kick off the test network.

Buterin Explains that New Testnet Is Not “THE Multiclient Testnet”

Vitalik Buterin responded to the post from Prysmatic labs by notifying the community via twitter that the new release is possibly not yet “The Multiclient Testnet,” stressing that one or two restarts will be done soon so that more chances will be created to test the genesis mechanism.

Mainnet-configuration eth2 testnet.



Note that this is likely not quite yet "THE Multiclient Testnet™", as we are likely going to do one or two restarts soon to have more chances to test the genesis mechanism. But still, huge progress and excellent work by @prylabs https://t.co/EmUNnOoL6Q — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) April 14, 2020

Following the launch of Phase 0, Buterin stated that ETH 2.0 would begin as an independent Proof of Stake (PoS) network that starts off slowly so as to demonstrate its capabilities over time.

Buterin also noted that the newly launched testnet is the first phase of ETH 2.0, which will enable sharding. As per an earlier blog post from Prysmatic Labs, every shard will function as a full PoS system, consisting of an independent piece of state and transaction history.

If implemented correctly, sharding would provide a solution for Ethereum’s scalability problem without compromising the network’s security and decentralized nature.

Excitement Grows As ETH 2.0 Gradually Becomes Fully Robust

Despite subdued price growth experienced in the crypto markets in recent weeks, the ETH network has been able to amass constant usage as the crypto community anticipates the implementation of the ETH 2.0 network. In fact, as the March 2020 price crash occurred, the network was congested, and DEXes saw record volumes.

Buterin explained that once ETH 2.0 becomes fully robust, ETH 1.0 will then amalgamate into the ETH 2.0 network, finalizing the transition.