Ethereum Developers Launch “Zhejiang”

Ethereum Developers Launch “Zhejiang”, a New Testnet for Ethereum Withdrawals

Ethereum developers are preparing to launch a new environment that allows for testing highly anticipated withdrawals from staked ETH tokens.

Developers and regular users need to test the network’s ability to withdraw staked ETH. The testnet has been renamed “Zhejiang”. This new feature is called Ethereum Improvement Proposal-4895 in technical circles.

Users who have staked their Ethereum on Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS), blockchain have been waiting for this feature. They have not been able to withdraw their tokens or ‘unstake’ their tokens.

Zhejiang will be live on Wednesday, February 1st at 15:00 UTCst.

The testnet will launch on Wednesday. However, Barnabas Busa, an Ethereum Foundation engineer, stated on Twitter that regular users will have to wait 6 days before they can try the simulated withdrawals. These users can now deposit ETH to the validators of the testnet and then withdraw it starting February 7.

Private testnets: “Rocky start”

After a private testnet was launched for Ethereum developers on January 26, the public testnet’s launch follows. Busa said that the testnet had a “very rocky start”, but it eventually stabilized.

Shanghai upgrades track

The next major upgrade to the Ethereum network, known as the Shanghai hardfork, will require withdrawals of staked ETH.

Marius Van Der Wijden, Ethereum core developer, stated that progress towards the Shanghai upgrade was good in a developer call last week.

“Things look great. Van Der Wijden stated that he was unaware of any issues that could cause Shanghai to be delayed at the moment.

Developers agreed to remove several EIPs related the EVM Object Format, (EOF), that were supposed to be part Shanghai. This confirmed that everything is on track for Shanghai hard. Developers claim that EOF will be added to an Ethereum upgrade in the third quarter of this year.

By David Warsh

David Warsh is a leading expert in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. With over a decade of experience in the industry, he has a deep understanding of the intricacies of digital currencies and the potential they hold for revolutionizing various industries.