The inaugural public testnet for the =nil; protocol, an Ethereum layer-2 solution that leverages zero-knowledge sharding, has officially launched. The =nil; Foundation made the announcement on October 30, celebrating this launch as a significant step forward as the Ethereum (ETH) L2 protocol inches closer to its mainnet deployment.
This testnet follows an earlier devnet release that allowed developers to rigorously evaluate the project’s proof of concept. With the introduction of =nil; Testnet v1, the zkRollup is set to collect essential feedback from a broader user base.
The primary objective of this release is to enhance the development experience through user testing. An expanded array of decentralized applications is now available as developers explore zkSharding. Testnet v1 presents the public with a unique opportunity to help pinpoint potential issues while various applications undergo stress testing. Additionally, developers will utilize the testnet to refine their tools.
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The =nil; Foundation unveiled the Ethereum zkRollup in November 2023, aiming to scale the Ethereum network to more than 60,000 transactions per second through zkSharding. This innovative approach merges zero-knowledge Rollup with sharding, allowing for simultaneous transaction processing while maintaining a shared state across the network. This capability enables Ethereum to scale without the common trade-offs associated with modularity.
The zkSharding solution from =nil; addresses critical issues such as liquidity and security fragmentation, composability with Ethereum’s mainnet, as well as data transparency and verifiability.
The launch of the testnet brings the layer-2 protocol closer to its roadmap objective of a mainnet launch in the fourth quarter of 2025. Following testnet v1, =nil; plans to progress to v2 and v3 phases in the second and third quarters of 2025, respectively. Key focus areas before the mainnet launch will include zkEVM, performance testing, stability, and user experience.
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