Ethereum 2.0 Development Progress

Ethereum 2.0 Development Progress

According to a report from Blockcast, Ethereum 2.0 development is continuing to progress, and the final public testnet - "Medalla" - will launch on August 4th for comprehensive testing.

Medalla is the first complete testnet for simulating mainnet conditions in Ethereum 2.0 and will support multiple clients.

In addition, the Ethereum Foundation has launched a "Validator LaunchPad" for users to participate in the testnet by staking Ether (ETH) and confirming transactions.

The Foundation expects the LaunchPad to connect to the mainnet later this year or early next year.

Phase 0, a critical part of Ethereum's proof-of-stake consensus algorithm, is expected to be released in November 2020, and the LaunchPad is a part of the testnet launch.

The Validator LaunchPad aims to simplify the participation process for validators while maintaining security and education. The Foundation will track participants and their balances to help validate the testnet, and users need to stake at least 32 Ether to run a validator node.

Ethereum's Medalla Testnet

Danny Ryan, the project leader, stated that it would require at least 16,384 validators to deposit a minimum of 524,288 ETH for Medalla to launch. If the benchmark is not reached by August 2nd, the testnet will launch on August 4th.

On the other hand, Ethereum's recent price surge is attributed to the rising demand for DeFi, Ethereum 2.0, options, and spot trading. TradeBlock's research head, John Todaro, believes that the growth of DeFi will drive up ETH prices in the long run.

However, Ethereum 2.0 is more likely to be the new catalyst for the market, especially in Q4. Additionally, ETH option trading volume and open interest have reached all-time highs, with Deribit accounting for 93% of the Ethereum options market.

Santiment researchers suggest that ETH has further room to grow compared to competing coins like LINK.