ETH2.0 test network Onyx is launched. How far is Ethereum from the real 2.0?

Yesterday, Ethereum, the world's second largest blockchain project, officially launched the latest version of the ETH2.0 test network - Onyx, pronounced [ˈɒnɪks].

ETH2.0, which was once highly anticipated but seemed to be far away and even difficult to deliver, seems to have finally reached the final moment.

But after a careful review, Lian Chaguan found that things were not so optimistic.

What is ETH2.0?

In 2014, the emergence of Ethereum gave blockchain the value of practical applications and it was even called the creator of blockchain 2.0.

However, the Ethereum network still has limitations in security, consensus mechanism and scalability, making it difficult to meet the market demand as the first public chain, let alone realize the vision of a "decentralized Internet."

If Ethereum overcame its own limitations because of the tigers and wolves in front, then Ethereum also has the pursuers behind. After Ethereum, EOS, Tron and other rising stars are catching up with each other, and Polkadot and IPFS, two rising stars, are also expected to go online this year after two or three years.

So ETH2.0 came out at the right time.

The Ethereum team led by Vitalik is trying to cover the current Ethereum blockchain based on PoW consensus with a new system based on PoS consensus, while also improving scalability by implementing state sharding.

In Taipei in 2018, the Ethereum team officially merged Casper PoS and sharding into a project called Ethereum Serenity, also known as Ethereum 2.0.

Because ETH2.0 is very large in terms of technical difficulty and design depth, it will be implemented in stages as planned.

Therefore, ETH2.0 has 4 phases, namely Phase 0, Phase 1, Phase 1.5, Phase 2...

Phase 0 is the launch of a new consensus mechanism, the Beacon Chain. The Beacon Chain is the core of ETH2.0, where all system-level activities take place, and where collaboration and communication within the system take place. Ideally, the new consensus mechanism can achieve 1,000 times scalability.

Phase 1 is about reaching consensus on content based on the beacon chain, and this content comes from shard chains, which are other chains based on the beacon chain consensus.

Phase 1.5 is to integrate the Ethereum mainnet as a shard into the consensus mechanism of ETH2.0. ETH miners will no longer be supported by the proof-of-work mining algorithm, but will be built by ETH2.0 validators.

Phase 2 will add states and execution mechanisms to shards beyond the initial Ethereum shard, but the specific approach has yet to be determined.

What stage is Onyx testing at?

What stage is the latest version of the test network Onyx at on the road to ETH2.0?

Phase 0 is actually the first phase.

Since the development of ETH2.0 started in 2018, four test networks have been implemented: Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond and Topaz.

The 4th Topaz test network is the first complete mainnet configuration of Phase 0. Topaz has been running well since its launch, with nearly 40,000 active validators. However, due to an error in the consensus rules, it is not compatible with multiple clients, and other clients cannot successfully synchronize the Topaz blockchain.

The Onyx test network, as the next iteration of Topaz, makes some important improvements with the goal of achieving the final specifications before the mainnet is launched and multi-clients are ready. Unless there are serious vulnerabilities, there will be no more changes in the future.

Here are some of the improvements in the Onyx testnet:

• Better handling of secondary networks formed around witness messages based on P2P networks;

• Improved testing of consensus code that is vulnerable to attacks such as rewards/penalties;

• Improve data processing for ETH 1.0;

• Ensure that when the inactivity leak mechanism is triggered, validators with better performance will not have their balances deducted, thereby improving user experience.

How far is ETH2.0?

The launch of the test network Onyx can only mean that ETH2.0 is about to complete the first step of its long journey, and there are still many tasks to be solved.

For example, developing a large number of other chains based on the beacon chain consensus (of course, I believe that with Ethereum's influence, it should not be a problem), and changing ETH's POW consensus mechanism to a POS consensus mechanism...

The first step may have solved the technical difficulties to a large extent, but the follow-up will involve more ecological interests. Can the Ethereum team solve them?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section.