---
tags: newineth2
description: The latest update on Ethereum 2.0 development
image: https://benjaminion.xyz/f/favicon-96x96.png
GA: UA-129359374-2
---
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# What's New in Eth2 - 15 May 2020
 Ben Edgington ([PegaSys](https://pegasys.tech/), [ConsenSys](https://consensys.net/) — but views expressed are all my own)
Edition 42 at [eth2.news](https://eth2.news/)
## Top picks
Not easy to select just one or two, but how about these:
- ConsenSys Codefi released the [Ethereum 2.0 Staking Ecosystem Report](https://consensys.net/insights/eth-2-staking-ecosystem-report). Apologies for the registration required, but it's well worth jumping through a couple of hoops to get hold of it: 40 pages of results and analysis on Eth2 staking intentions.
- And, as ever, see Danny's [eth2 quick update no. 11](https://blog.ethereum.org/2020/05/06/eth2-quick-update-no-11/) for your most reliable source of Eth2 news.
## Editorial: When Eth2?
We've been anticipating Ethereum 2.0 in one form or another for [more than 5 years](https://blog.ethereum.org/2015/12/24/understanding-serenity-part-i-abstraction/), and there's a long history of [optimism](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7554923) about its launch date. There has never been an "official" stake-in-the-ground go-live date collectively agreed. Nonetheless, many foolhardy individuals have dared to venture best guesses, some better informed than others. In our [Eth2 Phase 0 session](https://vimeo.com/417616896) at Ethereal I gave a high probability to Q3 this year. Paul Hauner suggested that Q3/4 is more realistic. Elsewhere, Vitalik [didn't](https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1260152524495085568) say [July](https://blockonomi.com/ethereum-2-0-still-on-track-for-july-launch/) (and neither did I!).
A question I increasingly hear is, why is it so delayed? But there's no deadline, so I think that question is more fairly re-framed as, why is it taking such a long time?
In my view, Justin Drake nailed it with [this tweet](https://twitter.com/drakefjustin/status/1261242655650000897):
<p style="text-align:center">
<a href="https://twitter.com/drakefjustin/status/1261242655650000897"><img width="373" height="241" alt="Tweet from Justin Drake" src="https://benjaminion.xyz/images/JustinTweet_200515.png"></a>
</p>
It's taking long because we're doing it right. And that's the right thing to do.
Danny Ryan enlarges on this theme in his recent [POV Crypto podcast](https://twitter.com/POVCryptoPod/status/1260225357791129601), which is this week's recommended listening ([video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYNqoKh3KWs); [audio](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3BvdmNyeXB0b3BvZC5idGMubGlic3lucHJvLmNvbS9yc3M/episode/OWFjYWVhYTEtYjdlYS00Y2FmLTg4ZTItMjU3NGMzMTI2NDFm)).
Bottom line: we're so close, I can almost smell it.
## Phase 0
### Testnets
The testnets are the stars of this week's show, so I've moved them up the billing.
There are currently two public Eth2 Phase 0 testnets out there. [Topaz](https://medium.com/prysmatic-labs/introducing-topaz-testnet-8e8a4e00a700) is the Prysm-only network set up by Prysmatic labs, and [Schlesi](https://github.com/goerli/schlesi/) is a multiclient testnet created by Afri Schoeden.
#### Schlesi
It's fair to say that Schlesi has been a bigger success, and far more stable, than expected. As of today, three clients are participating fully, with both synced-up beacon nodes and validators running. That's Prysm, Lighthouse, and Teku. The Nimbus client is very nearly there, able to sync almost to the head of the chain, and Lodestar can also make some progress. This is the biggest interoperability milestone since we all [got together in Ontario](https://media.consensys.net/how-30-eth-2-0-devs-locked-themselves-in-to-achieve-interoperability-175e4a807d92) last year.
You can see some of the Schlesi beacon nodes on the [Eth2Stats dashboard](https://eth2stats.io/schlesi-testnet) - [Metal Albert](https://hackmd.io/@benjaminion/wnie2_200501#And-finally%E2%80%A6) will be there, unless he's taking a little nap. Validator performance and network progress can be tracked on [Bitfly's Schlesi explorer](https://schlesi.beaconcha.in/).
Schlesi is not intended to be a massively open public network just yet—baby steps—so we haven't put a shiny front-end on it to make it too easy to join. Nevertheless, I wrote [some instructions](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BP6B5muGjLGXVD1EOtorvlSBVzb5XR4OsYwBSTjiiDU/edit?usp=sharing) on getting a Teku node up and running on Schlesi, and, if you are really keen, registering a validator. There may be easier ways (such as installing from binary or using Docker, or using Infura for Eth1 data), but this faithfully documents what I did. If you do start running things, be sure to join the _#schlesi_ channel on the [Ethereum R&D Discord](https://discord.gg/zyZXUN7) to keep up to date with the latest. Expect teething problems!
At the [Eth2 devs call](https://hackmd.io/@benjaminion/rkzVrp958) this week we discussed using Schlesi's framework to build a more substantial multiclient testnet. Target for this would be June, with v0.12 of the spec implemented in clients, and starting with 16,384 validators of at least three clients. It could even be good for a dry-run of the Eth2 deposit contract front-end (the Launchpad discussed [below](#Launchpad)).
#### Topaz
Prysm's single-client Topaz network keeps on chugging, and can be followed with [Etherscan](https://beacon.etherscan.io/), [BeaconChain.in](https://beaconcha.in/), and [Eth2Stats](https://eth2stats.io/topaz-testnet).
Topaz has already hit some impressive [milestones](https://twitter.com/terencechain/status/1261366313202487296):
- Almost [1 million](https://twitter.com/preston_vanloon/status/1261125852604928002) (testnet) Eth staked
- Two thousand keys on Preston's [Raspberry Pi](https://twitter.com/preston_vanloon/status/1257567274736578560)
- Nodes with [500 peers](https://twitter.com/preston_vanloon/status/1260434369031933953)
- [More nodes than](https://twitter.com/preston_vanloon/status/1257363955502153729) some "Eth-killer" mainnets have.
Topaz does have a nice [shiny front-end](https://prylabs.net/), and is a good choice to try out for now if you don't want to be messing about too much.
### Specification
No spec updates since we last met. We are expecting v0.12 to land pretty soon, however. This will contain the long-awaited [update](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-specs/pull/1813) to the BLS cryptography, bringing us to version 02 of the IETF draft [BLS signature standard](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-irtf-cfrg-bls-signature/), and to version 07 of the IETF draft [hash-to-curve standard](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-irtf-cfrg-hash-to-curve/).
The working group deputised to propose a standard for consistent APIs across Eth2 clients has [reported back](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kVIx6GvzVLwNYbcd-Fj8YUlPf4qGrWUlS35uaTnIAVg/edit#), and [discussion is underway](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-APIs/issues/37).
### Testing
Sigma Prime continues to perform fuzz testing against the various client implementations. They recently published [Update #04](https://blog.sigmaprime.io/beacon-fuzz-04.html) of their adventures, including some bugs found. Plenty going on - it is hard to overstate the importance of this kind of testing for the consensus-critical components of Eth2. Word is that they will be distributing Docker images soon so that we can all join in with a massively distributed fuzzing effort.
Alongside testing the client implementations, it is also important to check the specification itself for correctness and unambiguity. Some of my PegaSys colleagues are working on formally verifying the Phase 0 spec using the Dafny framework. The team made a very accessible [presentation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCSwkUQO_no&feature=youtu.be) at the Ethereum Engineering Group last week. ([slides](https://slack-files.com/T9C7VSRBN-F01482P95A4-6a8835f00f), [Github](https://github.com/PegaSysEng/eth2.0-dafny).) They demonstrate how their work can be extended to test client implementations with a live demo on a Prysm subroutine.
Networking is generally not consensus-critical, but no less important. Lakshman Sankar is working on [stethoscope](https://github.com/lsankar4033/stethoscope), a suite of networking tests for eth2 beacon-chain clients. These will complement the existing reference test suite nicely. Meanwhile, Jonny Rhea's Prkl [network monitoring tool](https://github.com/prrkl) is also proving very fruitful in monitoring the health of the testnets and [finding issues](https://hackmd.io/@353yQn6WTImF5o12LQXXfQ/r1wFNxo9U#Eth2-Network-Monitor).
Yet another dimension that must be thoroughly explored is cryptoeconomic security. The Robust Incentives Group (RIG) at the Ethereum Foundation has been performing impressively detailed [modelling](https://github.com/ethereum/rig/blob/master/eth2economics/code/beaconrunner2049/beacon_runner_2049.ipynb) of scenarios - in this case, a network partition.
You can join in too - rewards have been doubled in the [Phase 0 bug bounty](https://notes.ethereum.org/@djrtwo/phase0-bounty) programme, and there are some juicy amounts on offer. So get hunting! :spider:
### Launchpad
I mentioned shiny front-ends earlier. Well, the [Ethereum 2.0 Launchpad](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-deposit) has been open-sourced. This was produced in a collaboration between ConsenSys Codefi, DeepWork Studio, and the Ethereum Foundation, and will be the official portal for staking on the Ethereum 2.0 mainnet. Here's DeepWork's description of the [design process](https://medium.com/deep-work-studio/eth2-deposit-launchpad-an-interface-for-the-first-world-computer-3e089138b264). You should take the following with a pinch of salt in the light of the above discussion, but here's [a poll](https://twitter.com/drakefjustin/status/1260599466144514049) on when the Launchpad could be launched for real.
Jimmy Ragosa has done an excellent walkthrough and critique of the Launchpad in two extended Twitter threads: [Part 1](https://twitter.com/JimmyRagosa/status/1260284226244673536), and [Part 2](https://twitter.com/JimmyRagosa/status/1261322006458503168). Mara Schmiedt and Carl Beekhuizen did a presentation of the Launchpad at the Ethereal Summit last week, but their video is one of the few not up yet. There were some technical issues at the time: hopefully it can be fixed up and released, so keep an eye out [here](https://www.etherealsummit.com/agenda).
### Staking
[A comprehensive look at hardware for staking](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethstaker/comments/ggmbvd/a_comprehensive_look_at_hardware_for_staking/) from Reddit. A lively discussion with some good advice for us home-stakers. And here's [another thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethstaker/comments/ge2qwx/looking_for_easy_suggestions_on_staking_hardware/). I sorted [my rig](https://hackmd.io/@benjaminion/wnie2_200501#And-finally%E2%80%A6) out a couple of weeks ago.
Staking reward calculators are in-vogue. Here's a couple:
- ethereumprice [ETH2 Calculator](https://ethereumprice.org/eth-2-calculator/)
- Bitfly's [Staking Calculator](https://www.beaconcha.in/calculator)
- ConsenSys [Activate](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15tmPOvOgi3wKxJw7KQJKoUe-uonbYR6HF7u83LR5Mj4/edit) - the original and most detailed
Here's Collin Myers on [How much you might earn staking on Ethereum 2.0](https://decrypt.co/28217/how-much-you-might-earn-staking-on-ethereum-2-0). And Joseph Chow believes that we should [demand free staking](https://ethos.dev/free-staking/), in combination with secret shared validators.
There will be a live webinar hosted by ConsenSys on [The State of Staking](https://pages.consensys.net/codefi-networks-the-state-of-staking)) on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 1:00pm ET. Still time to book!
## The Great Explainers
The ConsenSys trove of quality Eth2 material continues to grow, with [What Is Ethereum 2.0?](https://consensys.net/blog/blockchain-explained/what-is-ethereum-2/) and [What Is Proof of Stake?](https://consensys.net/blog/blockchain-explained/what-is-proof-of-stake/).
[More on the Economics of ETH 2.0](https://medium.com/@Austerity_Sucks/more-on-the-economics-of-eth-2-0-26a505fd025). Counterpoint: [stop calling it BETH](https://twitter.com/preston_vanloon/status/1257304491579174913)!
[BitMEX Research](https://blog.bitmex.com/ethereum-2-0/) has a fairly detailed Eth2 overview that I haven't vetted for accuracy, but looks pretty good at first glance. However, [not everyone](https://twitter.com/FigoFinozeros/status/1257391132650192896) likes it.
## Research
The winner of most controversial idea of the week is certainly Justin Drake's proposal for [Enshrined Eth2 price feeds](https://ethresear.ch/t/enshrined-eth2-price-feeds/7391?u=benjaminion). It's a simple idea, and I can definitely see the attraction. Since I am tagged on the post, I will say that my direct feedback to Justin was cautiously negative: basically, this is a governance and maintenance burden that client teams just won't want on top of their existing obligations, and current L2 oracles seem to be doing fine. I find myself in a rare place of agreement with [Ameen](https://ethresear.ch/t/enshrined-eth2-price-feeds/7391/5?u=benjaminion) :grinning: Vitalik's [response](https://ethresear.ch/t/enshrined-eth2-price-feeds/7391/4?u=benjaminion) was robust and detailed. Discussion continues...
Also on [ethresear.ch](https://ethresear.ch/):
- Mikhail Kalinin of PegaSys R&D published his promised write up on [The scope of Eth1-Eth2 merger](https://ethresear.ch/t/the-scope-of-eth1-eth2-merger/7362?u=benjaminion). It's a thorough and wide-ranging review of the work required to merge Eth1 into Eth2 (and then turn off proof of work).
- The EF Ewasm team has published [Eth1x64 Variant 1 “Apostille”](https://ethresear.ch/t/eth1x64-variant-1-apostille/7365). Eth1x64 is a straw-man—or thought-experiment—for exploring in a more concrete way what a sharded Ethereum world might look like. It starts from the idea of deploying Eth1 across all the 64 shards of Eth2 and tries to figure out how to make it all hang together. This version uses receipts for cross-shard transfers, and they have coded up an [example token](https://github.com/ewasm/eth1x64/blob/cfa0317f29cbf5a8ef5f67612944cbb9ba38d5b4/variant1_token_examples.md) in an extended version of Solidity.
- Dankrad proposes a [A 0.001 bit proof of custody](https://ethresear.ch/t/a-0-001-bit-proof-of-custody/7409) for Phase 1. The idea of proof of custody is that validators must assert that they have seen the data produced by the block proposer, and this needs to be policed on the network so that lazy validators who just fake the assertion can be slashed. Dankrad's proposal is a way to keep everybody honest, both validators and policers of validators, with almost no protocol overhead. Basically, on average one in every 1024 shard blocks would naturally result in a "poisoned" attestation, and signing that attestation would get the validator slashed, so the validator _has to_ check before signing. Brilliant.
- Vitalik has posted an [Open problem: ideal vector commitment](https://ethresear.ch/t/open-problem-ideal-vector-commitment/7421?u=benjaminion) in search of solutions. Honestly, this field is moving so fast. Polynomial commitments are so last month; now it's all about [aggregatable subvector commitments](https://eprint.iacr.org/2020/527.pdf).
And don't miss the latest PegaSys [TXRX team update](https://hackmd.io/@353yQn6WTImF5o12LQXXfQ/r1wFNxo9U):
- Onotole Eth2 spec transpiler
- Fork choice tests for the beacon chain
- Improving Discovery v5
- The Eth1 <-> Eth2 merge discussed above
- Eth2 Network Monitor, also mentioned above
- Cross-shard Transaction Simulation
## Regular Calls
### Implementers
The implementers' call was delayed by a week to skip the Ethereal Summit. So call #39 took place on the 14th of May.
* [Agenda](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-pm/issues/149)
* [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uZtEy0nNbw)
* My [quick notes](https://hackmd.io/@benjaminion/rkzVrp958), and [from Mamy](https://gist.github.com/mratsim/6e7d4a05c526cdfe64c588bdcab860e1).
Some solid [research updates](https://hackmd.io/@benjaminion/rkzVrp958#Research-Updates), including an intro to Axic's [evm384](https://notes.ethereum.org/@axic/evm384-preview) which might be an efficient alternative to precompiles for implementing the BLS12-381 into Eth1 for compatibility with Eth2.
### Networking
Eth2 networking call #5 took place on the 6th of May.
* [Agenda](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-pm/issues/148)
* My [quick notes](https://hackmd.io/@benjaminion/rJkuZ4e5I)
* [Recording](https://youtu.be/VPgMe6CVf5Q)
One big topic was [gossipsub v1.1](https://github.com/libp2p/specs/blob/master/pubsub/gossipsub/gossipsub-v1.1.md) which improves on attack resilience and bootstrapping.
## In other news
- Latest client team update from [Prysm](https://medium.com/prysmatic-labs/eth-2-0-dev-update-49-multiclient-testnet-security-audit-741ae1049ebf).
- [RFP for security audit](https://our.status.im/nimbus-eth2-0-security-audit-request-for-proposal/) of the Nimbus client. Responses by May 24th.
- Something that slipped under my radar is the [Ethereum Stakers Community Call](https://github.com/superphiz/ethstaker). Follow [@Eth2Scc](https://twitter.com/Eth2Scc) on Twitter for updates. Looks like the line up has been terrific so far. Unfortunately, it's not very time zone compatible with my beauty sleep.
## And finally...
What, you want more??? :sweat_smile:
Oh, alright. You know [that tweet](https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1261351775698694147) from J.K.Rowling? Someone please show her [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHjYt6Jm5j8) - by far the best Bitcoin explainer that I've ever seen.
* * *
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