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tags: newineth2
description: The latest update on Ethereum 2.0 development
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---

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# What's New in Eth2 - 27 February 2021

 Ben Edgington (Eth2 at [ConsenSys](https://consensys.net/) — all views expressed are my own)

Edition 63 at [eth2.news](https://eth2.news/)

## Top picks

The final part of Coogan Brennan's personal staking odyssey is [hot off the press](https://consensys.net/blog/blockchain-explained/how-to-safely-migrate-your-ethereum-2-0-validator-client/), covering migrating his validator from AWS to Digital Ocean to save some dollar. This whole series is brilliant. Coogan is a terrific writer, and I can attest first-hand that he thoroughly did his homework on every detail of these articles.

## The Beacon Chain

A decimal milestone was reached this week, with over [100,000 active validators](https://beaconcha.in/) on the mainnet Beacon Chain. Devs are more excited by binary milestones, so look out for the party when we reach 131,072 validators.

More importantly, the size of Mainnet is now approaching the size of the [Pyrmont testnet](https://pyrmont.beaconcha.in/) (currently 118,000 validators). Pyrmont is useful for stakers who want to test their set ups with a realistically sized network, but the dev teams want to be able to test clients at much larger scale so as to keep ahead of any problems. As discussed on this week's devs' call, we're looking at putting up a new, larger testnet fairly soon. Just discussing how big.

Another milestone: the highest earning validators have now earned [a whole Ether](https://twitter.com/terencechain/status/1361103326331297805) since Genesis - not a bad return in less than three months. It turns out that 11111 is the lucky number for validators: that's the first validator to achieve [1 ETH of income](https://beaconcha.in/validator/a2d24f4c55b648036b785419397d24f08b6346490d75585b4f00bd524c218ee4eebbf243515eca5ea18b1caad8a0cfa0#incomeChart). It helps to have made [two slashing reports](https://beaconcha.in/validator/a2d24f4c55b648036b785419397d24f08b6346490d75585b4f00bd524c218ee4eebbf243515eca5ea18b1caad8a0cfa0#slashings) and proposed a whopping [17 blocks](https://beaconcha.in/validator/a2d24f4c55b648036b785419397d24f08b6346490d75585b4f00bd524c218ee4eebbf243515eca5ea18b1caad8a0cfa0#blocks). By contrast, my leading validator has made only 10 block proposals so far, for a total income of 0.9533 ETH.

### Withdrawal Credentials

To absolutely no fanfare whatsoever, there was actually a [minor release](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-specs/releases/tag/v1.0.1) of the spec last week, the first for almost four months.

The only material change was to add [a new format for withdrawal credentials](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-specs/pull/2149).

As ever, there is a story here. Back in the mists of time, it was expected that Eth2 would have a completely different address space from Eth1, secured by BLS keys, rather than Eth1's current ECDSA keys. That's why the withdrawal mechanism is currently via a BLS keypair, and the withdrawal credentials are a commitment to that keypair. Unfortunately, this was not very helpful for trustless staking pools, and in particular has hampered Rocket Pool's launch.

Over time, the execution layer of Eth2 has come to look much more like today's Eth1. So now it makes sense to allow withdrawals to straightforward Eth1 addresses (accounts or contracts), secured by our old, familiar keys and wallets. Thankfully, the spec writers had the foresight to put in a versioning scheme for withdrawal credentials. So now we have both the original `0x00` scheme, and a new Eth1-compatible `0x01` scheme. Of course, there will be ways to use the original `0x00` scheme to withdraw to an Eth1 address, and no action is required by stakers just now. We haven't defined those ways yet, but we have time.

Note that there is also a proposal to allow validators to [change their existing withdrawal credentials](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-specs/issues/2213) to the new scheme, if desired (not yet implemented in the spec).

### Tooling

Some very important improvements were made this week in our collective infrastructure, with the battle of the date-to-slot converters: [Paul H](https://twitter.com/paulhauner/status/1361792999307448321) of Lighthouse pioneered things, swiftly countered by [Jacek](https://twitter.com/jcksie/status/1361994652816191490) of Nimbus, with the final killer app being delivered by Teku's [Adrian Sutton](https://twitter.com/ajsutton/status/1363380122447998976). This is indeed great progress, but I feel that what the world really needs is actually a slot-to-date converter. So if any of you geniuses need a challenge...

As for actually useful things, the excellent beaconcha.in explorer now provides [downloads of validator earnings](https://twitter.com/etherchain_org/status/1361443485824544772) data in various formats. It took me a while to find: click the "View daily statistics" icon at the top of a validator's page, just after the "Validator NNNN" title. Nice for tax reporting!

## Upgrade 1

Plans for the Beacon Chain's first upgrade are solidifying. As a planning target we're looking at June for deployment[^fn1].

[^fn1]: This is not a deadline! It's just a planning placeholder!! :sweat_smile:

Here are some related docs:
- Fairly detailed [description of the contents](https://notes.ethereum.org/@vbuterin/HF1_proposal), with links to PRs.
- [High-level deployment plan](https://notes.ethereum.org/@djrtwo/hf1-plan)
- [Checklist](https://notes.ethereum.org/zDtuwh07RS2SxJT59zUCnw) for specification updates.

The changes are relatively minor, at least when compared with what will come later, but still a fair chunk of work to implement. Here's a quick summary:
- Add a sync committee to the beacon chain to facilitate light clients.
- Accounting reform tier 1: update validator participation records throughout the epoch rather than in one heavy hit at the end of each epoch.
- Accounting reform tier 2: (a) make changes to the validator set only every 64 epochs, which avoids a potential DoS vector, and (b) modify the inactivity leak to be less of a blunt instrument.
- Increase penalties from their current "training wheels" values, towards the final spec values.

There are also two changes to the fork choice rule for deployment around the same time (these changes do not need to be coordinated so strictly and are not consensus breaking). These are both aimed at defeating separate theoretical attacks.
- The beacon chain is a weird kind of blockchain in that it is slot/time-driven rather than block driven. Handling empty slots in the fork choice is a continual headache. The first change modifies the fork choice rule to deal in (block, slot) pairs to better handle this.
- A fix for the "balance attack".

See the [overview doc](https://notes.ethereum.org/@vbuterin/HF1_proposal) for much more useful information on all of these.

### Naming

Possibly far more interesting and perplexing than any of the above is finding a scheme for naming this and future upgrades. Here's [a summary](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vhZTXcTRlFvOOFTXpeD-S52-hK3F6Huq-vp-26YeWJI/edit#gid=0) of all the submissions made on the [GitHub issue](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-pm/issues/202). Entries are now closed.

The clear leader is "star names". Holders of validator POAPs had a [lightning opportunity](https://old.reddit.com/r/ethstaker/comments/lsablu/participants_in_the_genesis_of_the_beacon_chance/) to vote on (a) [whether to use star names](https://poap.vote/poll/44), and (b) [which name to use first](https://poap.vote/poll/45). Click "Show current results" to see the (non-binding) outcomes. Looks like Alcor is the winner, but I'm waiting for an official announcement...

## Beyond the Beacon Chain

Ethereum 2.0 made its first proper appearance on the Ethereum All Core Devs call last week in the form of a [discussion about The Merge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2130&v=anrbnroO3dc) (link to start of the discussion). This is a huge step forward! Clearly it's going to take quite a while to do all the due diligence necessary for everybody to feel comfortable about changing the engine in mid-flight, but we're on our way.

This is what the Core Devs (Eth1 and Eth2) will be working on over the next months: a draft of the [executable Beacon Chain specification](https://hackmd.io/@n0ble/executable_beacon_chain). I'm sure it will continue to feature on ACD calls, but there is also likely to be a separate regular call for detailed work on the spec.

In other news, Vitalik has proposed a [list of EVM features potentially worth removing](https://hackmd.io/@HWeNw8hNRimMm2m2GH56Cw/evm_feature_removing). This is not directly Ethereum 2.0 related, only the Eth1/Eth2 merge is mentioned as being a motivator for getting some clean up done:

> The “merge”... may be the last chance we will have to rip off some of these painful bandaids, and this post makes the case for doing so.

## The Great Explainers

Vitalik made some good [follow up comments](https://old.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/ljqog6/whats_new_in_eth2_13_february_2021_edition_62/) in response to my [editorial](https://hackmd.io/@benjaminion/wnie2_210213#Editorial) last week, concerning roll-ups versus executable shards. Neither path is easy, but rollups offer the quicker wins.

Dankrad has written about [why it's so important to go stateless](https://dankradfeist.de/ethereum/2021/02/14/why-stateless.html). He makes a persuasive argument for pushing the boundaries on statelessness for Ethereum. We now have potential technologies, in the form of [Verkle](https://notes.ethereum.org/@ZuSZK8r2TgO7eFShwj4hVg/H1XE_w30w) [trees](https://notes.ethereum.org/@ZuSZK8r2TgO7eFShwj4hVg/H1XlaG_fw), to be able to achieve this. The push towards stateless Ethereum has been having [a bit of a welcome renaissance](https://ethresear.ch/t/complete-revamp-of-the-stateless-ethereum-roadmap/8592?u=benjaminion) recently.

The Secret Shared Validators initiative for Eth2 continues to gain momentum, being [grantees](https://blog.ethereum.org/2021/02/09/esp-staking-community-grantee-announcement/) in the latest round of Ethereum Foundation community grants. There was a [Fireside Chat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJj10GG5FqU) last week: "How does SSV benefit Staking Providers, At-home Validators and Staking Pools" (also features Dankrad!). See [this recent write-up](https://medium.com/coinmonks/eth2-secret-shared-validators-85824df8cbc0) for more background on the SSV technology. A community call with Blox Staking is planned for March 3rd. Join the [Discord](https://discord.gg/4BZxSY4Q2C) to keep up to date.

## News, podcasts and articles

Coindesk's latest [Valid Points](https://www.coindesk.com/unique-opportunity-upgrade-ethereum-virtual-stack) Eth2 newsletter is out, and good stuff. Catch up with their experience of running their own validator. Also check out this week's [Mapping Out Eth2.0 podcast](https://art19.com/shows/mapping-out-eth-20/episodes/143e9393-3313-404e-bbdd-6e3a079da851), discussing slashing with Raul Jordan. Keep an eye[^fn2] on this podcast - I hear it's really going places :wink:

[^fn2]: Well, technically an ear, but that sounds weird.

[Stake It - The Daily Gwei #185](https://thedailygwei.substack.com/p/stake-it-the-daily-gwei-185) - Anthony Sassano is keen on solo staking and avoiding centralised services.

[eth2 update 011](https://bisontrails.co/eth2/011/) from Viktor Bunin at Bison Trails, including more on withdrawal credentials, and info on their Eth2 Pioneer Program.

Don't forget Superphiz's [State of the Stake](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjG1IGDVgec)! Today on Secret Shared Validators, the Eth1/Eth2 merge, and more.

## Implementers' Call

Call #58 took place on the 25th of February.

* [Agenda](https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-pm/issues/206)
* [Video](https://youtu.be/yrDVhoTg5XU?t=293)
* My [quick notes](https://hackmd.io/@benjaminion/B1BZs7SMO), and Alex Stokes' [live tweet](https://twitter.com/ralexstokes/status/1364971012018872330) of the meeting.

## Job ads

I'm not looking to take food off Evan Van Ness's table, so this won't be a regular feature, but I've noticed a few nice Eth2 opportunities recently:
- The ConsenSys [Quilt team is hiring](https://consensys.net/open-roles/1792013/). Quilt is an R&D team doing excellent work around scalability and statelessness in Ethereum. Highly recommended.
- We don't have an advertised role yet, but there's a good chance we might be **hiring for the Teku team** very soon. If you are a mid- to senior-level Java dev interested in working on the world's finest Ethereum 2.0 client then please drop me a line :slightly_smiling_face:
- Other [client](https://prysmaticlabs.com/careers) [teams](https://status.im/our_team/open_positions.html?gh_jid=2386730) are also hiring :wink:

## In other news

There is progress on [The Eth2 book](https://twitter.com/StatefulWorks/status/1362072563602579458).

Raul Jordan of the Prysm team did a nice write-up of the journey to [tracking down a performance issue](https://rauljordan.com/2021/02/18/when-a-solution-is-right-in-front-of-your-eyes.html).

Lighthouse's [latest update](https://lighthouse.sigmaprime.io/update-34.html) goes into nice depth on block propagation times, and beacon chain client memory usage.

That's all, folks!

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